Richmond, where the final battle royal would take place to decide the final line-up for the Chase. Richmond, where we discovered that only six cars mattered at all the entire night, and all of them already had their tickets punched to the party. So, if you decided to watch something that actually promised some real drama, here is what you missed, in a nutshell, at Richmond.
On the opening lap, we had Joey Logano leading the way, followed by Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch. That was good for nearly 50 laps when Brad Keselowski replaced Busch. Another 50-some laps went by when we had Denny Hamlin replace Keselowski amongst the top trio, to join Logano and Kenseth. You missed all that drama, and we had nearly 300 laps to go.
Twenty-five laps went by, and Carl Edwards replaced Logano in a podium position, at least for six laps when Busch moved Edwards out, who was never to be seen again, finishing 11th. All you need to remember is that Kenseth and Busch also remained in the top three, and they would remain there the rest of the way. Hamlin replaced Keselowski for 35 laps before Logano got the position back with more than 100 to go. On lap 400, it was Kenseth, Busch, and Logano crossing the line and Richmond was in the books. Kenseth, Rowdy, Logano, Keselowski, Hamlin and, for six laps, Edwards, were the only cars that mattered at all on Saturday night in Richmond.
Sure, some got excited that Aric Almirola was fourth, but he had to win, and did not. He also needed Clint Bowyer to finish outside the Top 25, and he came home 10th. No, Almirola did not matter a lick on this night. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson all had Top Ten days. All did not matter in the end, or at the start, or anywhere near the middle, but I admit they did have nice finishes.
What did matter was the fact Kenseth won his fourth of the season and the 35th of his Cup career. He led 352 of the 400 laps. So, I am not really sure if any of the other five mattered at all now that I think about it. The victory means Kenseth enters the Chase tied with Busch and Johnson with each having an additional dozen bonus points added to their tally.
There were some newsworthy tidbits. We did have another Earnhardt running, as nephew Jeremy Earnhardt finished 13 laps off the pace in 40th, making his Cup debut at the age of 26. Martin Truex Jr. had the worst run amongst the Chasers, as a wall rub messed up the car to leave him six off the pace, 32nd. Just about the only other thing from the weekend of note was that Chase Elliott won the XFINITY race. Yes, someone actually registered in that series. I am as shocked as you are.
So, the Chase begins in Chicago with the “Sweet Sixteen” hoping to survive the cut over the next three events. According to their career average finishes at the track, one could expect Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Keselowski, and Gordon to do well there. Kyle and Kenseth should also do fine. However, this is definitely not the place Hamlin, Jamie McMurray, and Paul Menard have traditionally enjoyed any measure of success. Unless that changes on Sunday, they might have some work to do by the time New Hampshire rolls around. Hey, if you want drama, that might work for you.
