Since the first season of NASCAR’s Chase format, the last race of the “regular season” has been and at the three-quarter mile short track at Richmond International Raceway. Richmond has provided several fantastic finishes that made some drivers’ seasons a success and left others licking their wounds as they came to the realization that they were not eligible for a series championship.
In the first Chase season Jeremy Mayfield was faced with the ultimate challenge – win to get in. The entire race was drama filled as lap after lap the topic of conversation was Mayfield and his quest to stay in contention.
Last season it was four time series champion, Jeff Gordon. Gordon came into the event 13th in the standings, battling Kyle Busch for a Chase spot. Coming fresh off a second place finish at Atlanta, Gordon seemed to have momentum in his corner. Handling problems, however, plagued the No. 24 team in the first half of the race.
The handling issues were so bad, the car would not respond to normal adjustments, leading crew chief, Alan Gustafson to throw a hail-mary in a last ditch effort to stay in contention for the title. Gustafson disconnected the rear sway bar and the car came alive! Gordon drove to a second place finish, with Busch only managing a 16th place finish, one lap off the pace. When the dust cleared, Gordon beat Busch by a mere three points.
The scenario this season may lead to the most exciting regular season final ever. Ten drivers are going for five spots. The number of variables that could change the outcome would rival any NFL playoff race. A fact that NASCAR, I’m sure, had in mind when the concept of the Chase was designed.
Entering the this weekend, six drivers are locked in – Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Kasey Kahne. Kahne is locked based on wins and a wild card spot. He is, however, only ten points out of tenth spot. Kahne will be a major player in several other driver’s Chase hopes. If he moves into the top ten, it completely changes the wildcard picture.
Kahne will be chasing Kurt Busch, who is currently in tenth. Busch does not have a win this season, so it is crucial for him to stay inside the top ten. Busch’s fate is in his own hands. If he wins, he is in. A feat the No.78 Furniture Row team has been very close to achieving several times this season. This weekend would be the perfect time for them to find victory lane. Making the Chase not only would solidify the Denver based team as a major contender, it would also signify Busch’s return to the top after his fall from grace and his release from Penske racing. Busch talked about his position on Thursday, “You know, a few months ago we needed to put ourselves in position to control our own destiny. We’ve accomplished that. Is it the cushion we wanted? No. We only have a six point cushion. At the same time we can look forward and see Biffle is ninth in points, and he’s only eight points ahead of us.”
Breathing down the neck of Kurt Busch, is Richmond miracle worker, Jeff Gordon. Gordon sits in 11th place in the standings, just six points behind Busch. One thing Gordon has in his favor is the fact that Kahne is his teammate. Kahne being locked in as wildcard could permit him to layback and to give Gordon every opportunity to lock into the top ten. Gordon could then focus on beating Busch. Gordon was asked about his scenario at Richmond, “I’ll be honest, I think we were in a tougher spot last year than this year. I think the way it prepared us was knowing no matter what happens, you can never give up.”
The series’ most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., though not locked in, is pretty safe. Earnhardt currently sits seventh in the standings, 31 points ahead of tenth. He will lock himself in with a 32nd place finish. Earnhardt has a strong record at the speedway with three wins and 12 top-10’s. Earnhardt was asked about the possibility of team orders this weekend to help teammates. Earnhardt responded, “We haven’t really talked about that. I know from my point of view it would be hard to understand exactly what I could do to help one of my teammates. The crew chiefs can see the picture a lot clearer than the driver can. I want to help my teammates. I want my teammates to be in the Chase. I want Rick (Hendrick) to have as much opportunity to have a chance to win a championship as he can as an owner.”
Joey Logano, in his first season with Penske Racing, is also in fairly comfortable shape. Logano currently sits eighth in points, ten points ahead of tenth place. He also has one win this season. Logano commented on Thursday about his Chase hopes, “We had a really good test here. I feel like our car is going to be pretty fast. We finished third here in the spring. Really, I mean, the only thing you can do is go out there and keep doing what you’ve been doing.”
In addition to Kahne, Martin Truex Jr. also hold a wildcard spot. He will be battling with Ryan Newman for that spot, assuming Logano and Biffle stay inside the top ten. Of course, as stated before, the major domino, Kasey Kahne, could completely change everything if he moves into the top ten. Also, if Gordon, McMurray, or Keselowski win and end up with a higher point total, that will change the scenario for Newman and Truex.
A major story this weekend is defending champion Brad Keselowski. He has a huge hurdle to overcome to make it into the Chase. He currently sits 15th in the standings, 28 points outside the top ten, without a win. Keselowski needs to win and beat out Truex and Newman by significant amounts to clinch a wildcard spot. Keselowski commented Thursday night, “I feel like we’re a great race team. I feel like in the sports world, especially racing, you can only really control how fast you are and how well you execute. You can’t control the luck side. We’ve had a lot of bad luck. There’s been some times when we haven’t executed.”
All in all, it should be another great show at a great racetrack. NASCAR should be commended for their decision to put the final race of the regular season at Richmond. The speedway always provides drama and amazing battles. It will be one for the memory banks.
The green flag for the Federated Auto Parts 400 will fall at 7:30 pm local time.
