The Race to the Chase is down to the last event.
The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is right around the corner. The drama that has become known as the Chase “cut-off race” is set for Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway, the Air Guard 400. A handful of drivers will vie for the last two sports open in the 12-driver Chase.
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
Two Spots Open, Five Remain Eligible.
Coming into Richmond, the last two of 12 Chase berths technically remain up for grabs, although Greg Biffle certainly looks like a lock – he’s in 11th place, with a 161-point lead over 13th-place Ryan Newman and needs only a 42nd-place finish Saturday night to clinch.
Bowyer’s situation is promising but still extremely tenuous: he has a 117-point lead over Newman. He has to finish 28th or better to clinch.
Three drivers outside the current top 12 still have a chance: Newman, who is 117 points out of the top 12; 14th-place Jamie McMurray, 128 points out); and Mark Martin, 147 out, in 15th. (Anyone within 161 points of 12th place can still make it into the Chase.)
Last Chance for Bonus Points
The 12 drivers who qualify for the Chase will have their point totals re-set to 5,000. They then will get 10 bonus points for each pre-Chase victory; those new totals establish the Chase seedings.
Currently, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin have five victories apiece and thus, a total of 50 bonus points each. They’ll start the Chase seeded 1-2 (Johnson gets the top seed via the traditional tiebreak of next-best finishes).
How important are the bonus points? Consider: Jeff Gordon currently is second in the series standings and has secured a Chase berth but because he has no race wins this year, he’s destined to have the lowest point total (tied with several others) to start the Chase – 5,000. Unless he wins Saturday night at Richmond, which would give him 5,010.
Guys to watch as they try to win Saturday: Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch, currently tied with three wins apiece. If one of them wins at Richmond, they’ll start the Chase seeded third with 5,040 points, only 10 behind Johnson and Hamlin. Chase
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
First Short-Track Race For New Car
Richmond hosts the third of four debut races for the NASCAR Nationwide Series new car this year, and the event also will be its first on a short track.
When series owners met with NASCAR’s competition executives last summer, the consensus was to race at tracks of varying length. The first race was July 1 at Daytona’s 2.5-mile high-banked superspeedway, where Dale Earnhardt Jr. won in a Chevrolet Impala. Brad Keselowski drove his Dodge Challenger to the win in Race No. 2 at Michigan’s 2-mile flatter, wider surface on Aug. 14.
Keselowski, the driver standings leader, won at Richmond in the spring. Carl Edwards, who will drive a Ford Mustang, is the defending winner of this race.
After Richmond’s .75-mile oval, the new car has one more race this year, Oct. 15 on the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway. That will be the last new car race until 2011, when it will be introduced fulltime into the series. There will be an extended practice day on Thursday from 9 a.m. – noon and 1-4 p.m., and a press conference at 12:30 p.m. in the RIR infield media center featuring NASCAR Nationwide Series director Joe Balash, Keselowski, two-time series champion and four-time RIR winner Kevin Harvick and Paul Menard, currently sixth in the driver standings. Following the afternoon session, there will be an autograph session featuring series drivers from 4:30-5:15 p.m. at the RIR Amphitheater, outside Turn 1. The extended practice sessions and autograph session are free; fans will need to secure a wristband for the autograph session. They will be distributed at 3 p.m. at Gate 40, the same entry for extended practice seating.
Point Well Taken
Brad Keselowski has a good handle on the driver standings lead, but he’s got some work to do if he’s going to unify the driver and owner championship. With nine races to go, Keselowski’s No. 22 Penske Racing Dodge trails the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Kyle Busch/Brad Coleman by 83 points.
JGR has won the last two owner championships. Last year, Kyle Busch (who needs one more win to set the new record for most wins in a season with 11) captured the driver and owner titles in the No. 18. In 2008, JGR’s No. 20 Toyota won the owner championship while Clint Bowyer was the driver champion.
The first split was in 2003 when Brian Vickers won the driver title and Richard Childress Racing’s No. 21 Chevrolet was the owner champion.
Sibling Rivalries Renewed
Four sets of brothers are on the preliminary entry list for Friday night’s race at Richmond – Jeff (2000 series champion) and Mark Green; Brad and Brian Keselowski; Kenny and Mike Wallace and Elliott and Hermie Sadler. For the first time since 2003 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the Sadler brothers of Emporia, Va. will face off in a NASCAR Nationwide Series race. Hermie (29th) got the best of Elliott (36th) in that one.
But Elliott may have the upper hand Friday night. He’ll be driving the No. 88 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports – Jamie McMurray won in the No. 88 last Saturday in Atlanta. Hermie will drive the No. 27 Ford Mustang for Baker Curb Racing.
The last time the Sadlers faced each other at their home track was 1999 when Elliott finished sixth and Hermie, 24th. Hermie made his first series start since 2004 in March at Richmond while Elliott’s last NASCAR Nationwide Series race at RIR was in this event in 2008. The brothers have strong ties to the series with 386 starts between them. Hermie has 257 starts (six full seasons) and two wins, while Elliott has 129 starts (two full seasons) and five victories. Both have a high finish of fifth in the final standings.
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
Summer Stretch Ends; Bodine Continues Commanding Lead
This week marks the first of three open weekends for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series between now and the end of October. During the last nine weeks the series has raced nine different times in eight states and ran three of those races in just 12 days.
With seven races remaining in the 2010 season standings leader Todd Bodine – who has held the top spot since May – maintains a commanding 261 point lead over second place contender Aric Almirola. Bodine garnished three victories (Darlington, Nashville and Kentucky) and seven top-10 finishes during the recent summer stretch.
Points Battle Heats Up From Second on Back
Even though it appears Todd Bodine is on track to win his second series championship the battle for positions third through seventh continues to heat up. With seven races to go and only 179 points separating second from seventh position the run to Homestead will be a hard-fought battle.
However, the tightest tussle – with only three points making up the difference – is between Austin Dillon in sixth and Matt Crafton in seventh spot. Dillon has one win this season with Crafton still searching for his first victory in since May 2008.
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