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Another regular season is over and the Chase begins.  This is arguably the most competitive Chase ever with four former champions and a few other veteran Team Leaders looking to bring the title back to their team themselves.  Here are the contenders for the AAA championship in the new points order.

1st #4 Tim Reeve, 1Up/Bailey Motorsports, 5020 points, 2 wins, 7 top 5′s, 9 top 10′s

Tim had a great run in the spring races notching back-to-back wins at Atlanta and Bristol.  It’s unknown whether the recent change from X2X to 1Up/Bailey affected the results during those races, but that’s in the past and Tim is now focused on racing.  As a former champion, he has to be one of the favorites and possibly be the only person to win AAA championships with two different teams.

2nd #99 Aflac99, Bupp Enterprises, 5020 points, 2 wins, 6 top 5′s, 9 top 10′s

Aflac never really had much success in AAA.  Zero wins in three seasons with a best points finish of 17th in AAA, Aflac wasn’t really one of the pre-season favorites.  After getting his first two AAA wins of his career, he has shown a resurgance in performance and made sure that everyone knows the name Aflac99.

3rd RacerX, Sith Racing, 5020 points, 2 wins, 6 top 5′s, 8 top 10′s

If there’s one thing that describes RacerX, is that he’s a winner.  Seven wins in just three AAA seasons and making the Chase every season, it almost becomes a habit for him.  After finishing 3rd and 12th in points previously, will three times be a charm for RacerX.

4th #7 Kashvinder Mann, X2X Motorsports, 5010 points, 1 win, 7 top 5′s, 12 top 10′s

The longtime member of X2X is back and better than ever.  After winning a race and being the regular season champion, Kash is looking for more.  Winning the title in season 6, Kash only made the Chase in one of the next four seasons.  This season is different, and Kash has resiscovered what made him the legend.

5th Diego Gonzalez, X2X Motorsports, 5010 points, 1 win, 7 top 5′s, 11 top 10′s

There’s no sophomore jinx for Diego.  Finishing 20th in his rookie season, Diego has made the Chase and got his first AAA win last night at Richmond.  Diego may not as much experience, but he has the momentum which can be very dangerous.

6th darthclay, Sith Racing, 5010 points, 1 win, 6 top 5′s, 8 top 10′s

The leader of Sith Racing, darthclay has been all around AAA.  This season, he is back and better than ever.  Starting the season with a 2nd at the Daytona 500, Darth is using the “dark side” to bring that momentum into the Chase.  Darth always does well in the big races and all these races are big races.

7th ThirdWave, Bupp Enterprises, 5010 points, 1 win, 5 top 5′s, 8 top 10′s

ThirdWave is one of two AAA rookies in the Chase.  After having to miss three races early in the season due to circumstances beyond his control, ThirdWave has put together a comeback that’s only shadowed by someone who will be mentioned later.  After the Spring race at Bristol, he was 48th and was able to get his first win and have great finishes to claw his way into the Chase.  ThirdWave is considered the “wild card” of the Chase and no one really knows where he’ll finish, which may make him the most dangerous of all.

8th #94 Black Mamba, X2X Motorsports, 5010 points, 1 win, 4 top 5′s, 7 top 10′s

The new leader of X2X Motorsports, Black Mamba has experienced success in AAA until last season.  He won the title in season 8, but it didn’t do him any good last season where he placed out of the Chase.  This season, he too started the season far back in 44th after Atlanta.  With the new ownership, Black Mamba will want to win a title for his team and will do all he can to be a two-time champion.

9th #72 X1X, X2X Motorsports, 5000 points, 0 wins, 4 top 5′s, 8 top 10′s

X1X is the second rookie in the Chase.  Without any wins, X1X is probably the quietest person in the Chase.  He just stays out of trouble and gets good finishes.  Will he keep that up and sneak into the top spot?

10th Flash, Bupp Enterprises, 5000 points, 0 wins, 4 top 5′s, 7 top 10′s

Flash had possibly the greatest comeback in NASRAC history.  At a low point of 55th place in points after Talladega, Flash had to come back from next to last to the Chase in just 17 races.  It took him 15 as he was in 11th after Bristol, but was knocked out of it at Atlanta.  Needing another comeback, Flash finished 9th and won back a Chase spot at Richmond.  He’s caught up 431 points on the leader since Talladega so he likely has the most momentum of anyone.  Flash is also in Tim’s situation where he can be the only person to win an AAA title with two different teams.

11th #21 Alan Snyder, Y & F Motorsports, 5000 points, 0 wins, 1 top 5, 5 top 10′s

Alan is the only representative in Y & F this season.  Labeled as the “Mediocre Driver,” he is anything but this season.  This is his first season in the Chase since his rookie season in season 4 and he looks to make the most of it.  Y & F has had a history of having many representatives in the Chase and leaving without a championship.  With all their resources into Alan, will he change that and win the team that long awaited championship?

12th #9 Phillip Bupp, Bupp Enterprises, 5000 points, 0 wins, 0 top 5′s, 5 top 10′s

Statistically this is the “worst” season the Team Owner of Bupp Enterprises has had in AAA, but the only stat that he’s better than most is in points.  Cutting it close by falling back to 12th and keeping a Chase spot by eight points and finishing 24th the last two seasons, Phillip played the consistency game this season to get his spot relying on top 15 and top 20 finishes and just staying out of trouble.  The problem is that the Chase doesn’t reward consistency as much now and Phillip has to get on the wheel and get some good finishes if he wants to become the second person (Kash)  to win a AAA Daytona 500 and AAA Championship.