Lucky Dog Racing is set to start their minth Chase in the league's 10th season. The regular season is now over and it now becomes anyone's game for the 12 drivers that earned their way into the Chase field. We have five members who made their first Chase and a number of veterans that are usually in the Chase but missed this year.
Here is a look at the field and how they will line up.
1. Ron Blackman - Scored three wins this season at Bristol, Texas and Kentucky. His efforts will start him on top of the standings with 2009 points, of course that's just only three points over 2nd place though. This is the first time that Ron will make the Chase in his 3rd season.
2. Lou Demian - scored the second most wins this year with a total of 2. Lou's first half of the season was strong but struggled a bit in the second half. Still, he managed to finish the regular season in 3rd place and after missing the last 2 years, will make his 5th Chase. his highest finish was 4th place in 2010.
3. Jessy Turgeon - was in a real danger spot of 9th place prior to the race at Richmond. After a 6th place finish he moved all the way up to 4th place. He'll start the season one spot higher in 3rd. He had one win but scored the most top 5's out of everyone in the standings and tied for the most top 10's. Jessy makes his first Chase in his 3rd season.
4. Bob Douce - Won the regular season for the first time in his career but will be starting in the #4 spot. Bob is no stranger to making the Chase, this will be his 5th total time. He's only missed the Chase once in his career. He's finished in 2nd place three times including last season. Maybe this year he'll finally be able to get that elusive championship.
5. Ron Parlacoski, Jr - Some late season heroics moved Ron from 23rd place just a month ago to 10th place at Richmond. He's had 5 straight top 15 finishes including getting his 1st win of the year. Ron knocked Matt Minnich out in the final week and will now make the Chase for the first time in his 4th season.
6. Paul Scannell - Paul make his 2nd Chase in a row in his 2nd season. Paul's had a solid year after getting a win and getting into the top 10 in the past month. He finished 9th place in his first season after getting one of the wildcard spots and will be looking to make more noise this year.
7. Robby Stone - Finished the season in 2nd place behind his teammate Bob Douce but will start down in 7th place. He and Bob give Northeast Ohio Motorsports two members in the Chase and will most likely work together. Robby make his 3rd straight Chase, he finished 10th last year and 4th the year before.
8. Jose Rodriguez - Joins his teammate Paul Scannell as he makes his first Chase in his first full season. Jose has been strong in all leagues this year and could be considered one of the favorites for the Championship. He already has a Truck championship, now he'll be looking to add a Cup one.
9. Brian Blair - Is the fifth new member in the Chase and the only rookie to make it. Brian nearly had his teammate Matt Minnich join him, but he'll be going it alone. Brian is one of two Chasers without a win but there's no time like getting your first one then inside the Chase.
10. Harry Jeffery - The veteran with the most Chase experience, Harry makes the 7th one of his career. It was a little hairy for Harry to make the Chase this year but he managed to stay in the top 10 in the final weeks. Harry won the Championship in 2011 and will be looking to become the third member to win two.
11. Ray Perrota - Gets the first wildcard thanks to wining 2 races this year. Ray was the only one inside the top 20 with two wins which he got at California and New Hampshire. It's been awhile since Ray was in the Chase but after missing the last 4 years, he'll make his 4th appearance.
12. Leon Baker - Will get the 2nd wildcard spot thanks to a win and five top 5's. Those top 5's broke a tiebreaker with three other members who also had a win. Leon made his first Chase last year after a great season and will now make his 2nd Chase in a row.
