Down to the Nitty Gritty

Richmond is arguably my favorite track currently on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit. It is a short track with enough room for the cars to move around. It isn't the high speed of Bristol, but it isn't the traffic jam of Martinsville, another favorite track. Richmond is an appropriate venue for the final race of the "regular" NASCAR season.

As NASCAR fans know, the ten race Chase for the Championsip begins after Richmond. For at least four teams, it is do or die time, and, for other teams in the top twelve, it is the last chance to get those ten Chase bonus points for a regular season win. It doesn't matter how far ahead in points anyone is, the points reset to even except for those bonus points.

David Ragan, currently in thirteenth position in points, has the best chance to make the Chase of those drivers who are outside the top twelve. Clint Bowyer, in twelfth, has the best chance of losing his position. Pundits claim that Jeff Gordon is in danger of losing his position, which is theoretically and numerically true, but he is 103 points ahead of Ragan, and it would take a catastrophy for him to be knocked out. That isn't likely, as the #24 team is on a mission to prove that The Gordon has not lost one bit of his on-track prowess.

A run down of the seven "bubble" drivers and a better explanation of who needs to do what than we can present is available at NASCAR.com

We may remember, however, that Tony Stewart, the defending champion in 2006, did not make the Chase that year after being in the top ten in points nearly the entire season. Handling problems at Richmond in the final regular season race knocked him out of eligibility for the Chase. This just goes to show, anything can happen.

As Hurricane Hannah moves up the east coast this weekend, there is a good chance the race may be rain delayed. However, if it does rain Saturday, the storm may move out before race time. We are hoping that is the case, because we are so fired up for this race that a delay until Sunday would be a letdown.