One to go. Last chance. Go for it. Such are the thoughts going through drivers heads as they prepared for the Federated Auto Parts 400. Last race before the Chase. Last chance to claim a spot. Go for the win. For many drivers, a win was the only way to get into the Chase. For others, they just had to hang on to their points position. Both are much easier said than done.

Joey Logano started on the pole, but was quickly passed by Matt Kenseth. The night was destined to be dominated by Kenseth, who led 352 of 400 laps. Wow. And he always had teammates Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, and Denny Hamlin right behind him. So it was a night for Joe Gibbs Racing.

The only one exciting event happened during this race. While under caution late in the race, Michael McDowell accidentally sideswiped an on track clean up truck. No one was hurt during the incident, but Michael, his crew chief, and his spotter were all called to the Nascar hauler after the race for a little talk (both vehicles were pretty badly damaged). That brings back some memories. Daytona 500 2012 ring a bell?

As far as the Chase went, a win would get any driver in, but it was evident that Kenseth was virtually indestructible. Jamie McMurray only had to start the race and he was in on points. If a new driver, who wasn’t already in the Chase, won the race, the driver in the Chase who was lowest in points would be eliminated from the Chase grid.

Clint Bowyer entered the Chase in that position. However, he was only ten points behind Paul Menard. So he could drop-kick Menard to the last Chase position, should he run high enough and Menard low enough. And he did. Bowyer ran rather well throughout the night, and Menard struggled. Thus as, the final laps approached, Menard was frantically hoping that there wouldn’t be a new winner.

Kenseth was very fast all night, and he had already won this season, but there were a few other cars who could challenge him. However, as the lap count began to dwindle, only one remained. Aric Almirola, the young driver from Tampa, Florida, had a shot to win. Driving the historic no. 43 car, Almirola charged through the field in the closing laps.

However, with 20 laps left, he was still in fourth place. Suddenly, the caution flew. After a lightning fast pit stop, Aric found himself in third. He restarted on Kenseth’s back bumper.

With less than twenty laps to go the green flag waved. Kenseth shot away as soon as he saw the flag. Some people thought Kenseth had jumped the restart, but Nascar didn’t penalize him. Kenseth’s quick start caught all other drivers by surprise, including Almirola.

Aric fell to fourth in the running order. He charged furiously in the closing laps, but, it became apparent he needed a caution to catch Kenseth, or the others who had slipped by him. But, no caution came, and when the checkered flag waved Matt Kenseth was the one who claimed it. It was Kenseth’s fourth win of the year. And Aric missed the Chase.

The 2015 Chase Grid is now set.

Here is how it goes:

1: Jimmie Johnson

2: Kyle Busch

3: Matt Kenseth

4: Joey Logano

5: Kevin Harvick

6: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

7: Kurt Busch

8: Carl Edwards

9: Brad Keslowski

10: Martin Truex Jr.

11: Denny Hamlin

12: Jamie McMurray- first Chase appearance

13: Jeff Gordon

14: Ryan Newman

15: Clint Bowyer

16: Paul Menard- first Chase appearance

May the best driver claim the 2015 Nascar Sprint Cup Series Championship.