2015 has been full of surprises, but the biggest is how well under dogs are running. For those who aren’t familiar with the term, under dogs are drivers who are normally at the middle or back of the pack. This year there have been several times were surprising names have been at the front.

With several incidents where substitute drivers were needed, there were several chances for under dogs to get into top cars they wouldn’t normally drive. David Ragan is the top driver among these. He has replaced Kyle Busch in the no. 18 Toyota, and as of now he is in the Chase. What an amazing thing it would be for him to make the Chase as a substitute.

Then there are a few drivers who are in their regular cars, they just are performing beyond expectation. One of these is Casey Mears. Recognize the name? He is the nephew of the legendary Rick Mears. Casey is running on a small single car team, and yet he runs fifth in points. Where did that come from? He hasn’t driven like this in years. Well, I don’t know how it happened, but his success is a pleasant surprise.

Another of these surprising drivers is Danica Patrick. She has been steady and consistent, and she is currently 17th in points, one point from being in the Chase. She has never been this consistent before, and she has been like this all year. So far. Can she keep it up? I wouldn’t be surprised if she did. She has some of her best tracks coming up in the schedule, so keep an eye out for the green, black, and orange no. 10 car.

The last notably good under dog is Aric Almirola. He has not made a ton of noise this year, but he is 9th in points. That is pretty good, the question is, can he keep up this consistency? Only time will tell.

There are three veteran drivers who are in a way under dogs, but it is not that suprising they are running up front. Jamie McMurray, Martin Truex Jr., and Paul Menard are all running consistently, some more than others, and all three have been close to victory this year. I would not put it past any of them to win a race and even be a decent threat in the Chase.

Only time will tell if any of these under dogs can win races and make the Chase, but each of them has a fighting chance. And it would be quite an interesting Chase if most of the drivers listed above made the Chase. But, we still have nineteen races until the Chase starts, so anything can happen.