Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne Go from Wild Cards to Chase Contenders

Before the first practice laps had been run at Daytona this past February, NASCAR experts everywhere were predicting which 12 drivers would qualify for the 2012 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup to compete for a championship. Among the presumed "locks" to make the field were Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne. After all, they were part of what most consider to be the premier organization in NASCAR: Hendrick Motorsports.Gordon was coming off his best season since 2007, and Kahne's win in last season's penultimate race was proof that he and crew chief Kenny Francis could field a dominant car. This was why the early struggles they shared this season had many shaking their heads and writing the drivers off as Chase afterthoughts.But now that they are in...

Read Complete Article at Bleacher Report - Motorsports
Article is property of BleacherReport.com