Start your engines, NASCAR fans, for this year’s Chase Grid® Battle Powered by Bing. This exciting competition gives fans the chance to make round-by-round picks and compete for prizes throughout the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, which kicks-off on Sept. 20 at Chicagoland Speedway.
This year, the Bing team has partnered with NASCAR to bring its Bing Predicts technology directly into the Chase Grid Battle Game experience to give NASCAR’s passionate fans a leg up on making picks. The unique methodology and algorithms of Bing Predicts have earned the technology a reputation for correctly calling the winners of sports events, awards shows and more. If you’ve been following Bing predictions, then you know we’ve been hard at work this summer making highly accurate forecasts about everything from the Women’s World Cup to the Tour de France.
We’re going to be helping NASCAR fans balance head and heart with predictions for each stage of the Chase Grid® Battle Game Powered by Bing. We have been predicting weekly NASCAR events since April, alongside the latest information on the drivers, races and teams that matter. So far in this season, Bing Predicts has beat the baseline market predictions for the top five finishers in every stock-car event.
So who will go all the way in the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup?
First, let’s start with the field. We predict the 16 qualifiers are (in order):
1. Kevin Harvick 9. Denny Hamlin
2. Joey Logano 10. Jamie McMurray
3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 11. Jeff Gordon
4. Brad Keselowski 12. Ryan Newman
5. Jimmie Johnson 13. Carl Edwards
6. Martin Truex, Jr. 14. Paul Menard
7. Matt Kenseth 15. Clint Bowyer
8. Kurt Busch 16. Kyle Busch
With Kasey Kahne and Aric Almirola just missing the cut, Kyle Busch is the most interesting case. He’s on the bubble from the points table now — 29th now and the minimum requirement is a ‘top 30’ finish, plus one win. We project that he will not only qualify, but finish in the final four.
Bing Predicts sets up Kevin Harvick to successfully defend his Chase for the Sprint Cup title with Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, and Brad Keselowski finishing in second, third, and fourth, respectively. In Jeff Gordon’s final season, we predict his career will end in the second round of the Chase.
But, anything can change, so keep checking both the NASCAR Chase Grid Battle Game page as well as Bing for the latest predictions as you follow the races to the finale this fall. For more sports experiences, including predictions for professional football, read more here.
Good luck, and enjoy the races!
-Walter Sun, Bing Predicts Team Lead