If It Doesn't Rain...

Saturday night is where it will all come down to the wire--for the regular season, anyway. There will be at least five drivers trying to get one more win, to gain an advantage in the Chase seedings with more bonus points. There are, at least, three drivers trying to get into, or hold on to, a spot in the top twelve so they can get into the Chase. The stakes are high, and so will be the intensity. What could be better than having a race on a short track for all of this? How could anyone say that NASCAR is boring now?
My friend, The Canadian Curmudgeon has an excellent preview and analysis on his blog, and I really have very little to add to that. I am biased, however, and want to add that Smoke will also have a very good run at Richmond, which is also one of his favorite tracks. It doesn't matter if you are first, second or twelth in the standings going into the Chase. Once the Chase begins, the driver with the most wins is in first place. So we will see a lot of drivers going for the win.
There will be those who are out of the Chase, but will still be wanting to get a win, just for the sake of winning. Of these, the cute little guy--Kasey Kahne--should be the best, and he can finish without endangering those who are in the Chase.
It will be wild, and the Schrub--Kyle Busch--will be in his element, driving on the edge of control all the way around the track for the entire race, making things even wilder. I would have been critical of his driving style a year ago, but he listened to Smoke, and has matured enough so that he isn't as much a hazard to the other drivers as he used to be. I think he will be an asset to JGR next year.
I digress. I'm picking Smoke to win, Kasey Kahne to finish second, Denny Hamlin third, Jimmy Johnson fourth, and Kyle Busch, who has done very well in the Formula N car, and on short tracks, fifth.
Kevin Harvick, I predict, will finish high enough to hold on to his spot in the Chase, but Kurt Busch will have bad luck either brought on by himself or mechanical problems, and, much to the delight of 80% of the NASCAR fans, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will barely squeak into the Chase. Wait, this isn't a prediction, it's a fantasy, but it's fun.
This will all change if the expected storm hits the Eastern Seaboard. I think, if the race isn't run by Monday, NASCAR should go ahead and make Richmond the final race of the year, which means, if the Championship points are tight, the season will end with a bang in November. Then, Loudon will be the deciding race going into the Chase.
I would like to ignore the last three paragraphs and just say, if it doesn't rain, Saturday night should be a blast! If it does rain, at least ESPN/ABC has some interesting features they run during the rain delays.