Live on Type Delay: Chevy Rock n Roll 400

This is not the usual flag-to-flag coverage we present in Live on Tape Delay, due to the fact that we committed the almost unforgiveable sin of oversleeping on race day. We managed to start watching just before Kyle Busch got his payback from Dale Earnhardt, Jr in retaliation for "the spin heard around the world" at Richmond last Spring.

That finally being over with, and done with a finnesse of which only Junior is capable of, we watch a race that only Richmond is capable of presenting. Three wide racing all around the track, some bumpin' some beatin' and some bangin' is what makes the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 rock & roll.

The seventh caution of the race gave David Reutimann the opportunity to take the lead by staying out while the leaders pitted. It didn't take long for Tony Stewart and the others who pitted to catch up to him, but he did very well by holding the lead for the entire segment. Shortly after the eighth restart, Smoke catches him and takes the lead, with Jimmie Johnson close behind him.

There is another caution with around forty laps to go, and the leaders pit again. Truex comes off pit road first, but he only took two tires. Jimmie Johnson, whose #48 team got him out first among those who took four tires, makes quick work of Truex, and Stewart is right behind him.The final caution occurs with thirty six laps to go, and the final restart is with thirty one to go.

We have to stop being so cynical of Jimmie Johnson's abilities. For the final 25 laps, Stewart and Johnson are racing hard. Johnson plays it smart and maintains the high line that gives him more momentum off the turns. Stewart catches him with ten to go, and this is getting very exciting. Stewart does gain the lead for one lap, but Jimmie is faster on the high line, and pins Smoke to the bottom. The race goes all the way to the final lap--a well fought race that Johnson wins. This was a great finish that fed us almost too much adreniline. We are as disappointed as Smoke that he couldn't catch Johnson at the end--a win here would have been awesome--but Johnson showed brilliance in holding the lead for the win, and it was a very good race.

Meanwhile we had more drama going on between the drivers trying to get that twelfth position for the Chase. David Ragan, starting the race only seventeen points behind twelfth place Clint Bowyer, got damage to his front splitter in an incident early in the race--something that should have caused him problems, but didn't. At times he was as much as seven points ahead of Bowyer, and for much of the race was running side by side with Bowyer. But a damaged car is just that, and it was only a matter of time before the handling problems multiplied and it became too difficult for Ragan to keep up, so Bowyer ended up safe within the Chase for the Championship. His victory earlier this season gives him fifth seed in the Chase.

Earnhardt, Jr had a good car, but not good enough. He did get a top five finish with the car that never really looked better than being top fifteen capable. This is another thing that impresses us about Junior, and we wonder what would happen if he ever got a really good car. This is Hendrick Motorsports we are talking about, and, for the Chase, maybe they can get things stepped up as far as equipment goes.

There doesn't seem much hope for Jeff Gordon this year. At times, the 24 team has been brilliant, but for much of the regular season, it seemed lackluster. We are still expecting some sort of change in that team during the last ten races of this season. It would be difficult to change crew cheifs at this point, because of communication concerns. But if Gordon and Letarte aren't on the same page at this point, what would it hurt to put someone else on the pit box for the last ten races?

The organizations that performed the best this season are the organizations that made the Chase. Hendrick, Gibbs, Roush-Fenway, and Childress each have three cars in the Chase. Gillett-Evernham was the only Dodge team that had a chance to be in the Chase, with Kasey Kahne, but that team, which had been as high as eight in the standings, ran into trouble earlier this season and never really recovered. We could probably expect NASCAR--who changed the eligibility requirements for the Bud Shootout at the beginning of the season to ensure that all the manufacturers were represented--will once again tweak the Championship rules to include all the manufacturers in the Chase next year.

Final thoughts:

The race was awesome, and so was the Home Depot ad that featured Tony Stewart literally handing the wheel of the Home Depot car to his replacement, Joey Logano.

Kyle Busch handled himself very well in the post race interview, and did not seem angry or disappointed that he was taken out of the lead by Jr. He didn't put any blame anywhere, and congratulated his team, happy to be going into the Chase seeded in the top position. We will see some more wins from him this year, because he has the right attitude, and the right team with which to do so.

The fans at Richmond are loyal, and, even after the weather postponement, the stands were very nearly full, as far as we can tell. Richmond is one of the best tracks on the circuit, and continues to deliver great racing even with the new car, where the racing at the intermediate tracks has often fallen flat. We feel that the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 is an excellent venue with which to end the regular season.

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.

Happy to help!

First, a shout to The Stewart Fan, who has returned from his weekend at Richmond and written a couple of posts about it. It is good to hear from him, because he doesn't post very often, but when he does post, it is usually good reading. Check out his first-hand report from Richmond, and a review on Sprint's FanView gadget.

Now, as a Public Service to angry NASCAR fans, and in anticipation of Saturday night's race at Darlington, Rev'Jim's RantsnRaves presents "cut and paste" comments for your favorite forums or blog comments sections. Two of these may look familiar, because they were loaned to From The Marbles for the always fun "Comment-a-palooza" post.

"(Pick one: Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Biffle) Should have been parked and banned from racing for life for that move!"

"He hasn't won a race all season, and suddenly he wins at Darlington? Give me a break! You say NASCAR isn't fixed?"

"Goodyear Sucks"

"It was better racing before they repaved it."

"It was better racing before the COT"

"It was better racing when they had the Southern 500 at Darlington on Labor Day!"

"It was better racing before Toyota came into the mix!"

"Somebody should have wrecked that M&M's guy before he wrecked somebody else!"

"You know (any driver) didn't put (any driver) into the wall on purpose! Schrub made him do it!"

"That race was booooooooooooring!"

Except for one or two, these comments are generic enough to fit into any situation, no matter who you claim as your favorite driver.

You're welcome.

Richmond: "Live" on Type Delay

First of all Dan Lowry did a great "Gentlemen start your engines." It was full of life and enthusiasm and didn't turn into a screech.
Carpentier and Kyle Busch, two like-styled drivers, racing each other side by side on lap three is the first exciting moment of the race. They're already going two wide and doing some real beatin' and bangin' throughout the field, and the race has barely started.
It looks like Smoke has a good car. This was the car that couldn't go anywhere at Phoenix, but they have apparently done some work on it. I'm already getting those "don't mess up, Smoke" anxieties.
Hamlin is already lapping people by lap 32. He is a man on a mission. So is Mark Martin. My thoughts at this point, during a commercial, are wandering to thinking about who would be the most popular winner at Richmond--Denny Hamlin, Elliott Sadler, Jeff Burton, or Mark Martin?
Jeff Gordon is not having a good time. What's up with that 24 team. It is sad to for me to see Gordon not performing well, and there are other drivers I like better than him. Still, he's putting up a good fight to stay close to the lead lap. That's the Jeff Gordon. we like.
Earnhardt, Jr. is doing what he has to do. Don't be surprised if he doesn't win until the season enters the period where winning counts--during the Chase.
Johnny Sauter gets the first cut tire. just before lap 70. Aggressive camber, my guess. That was late for a caution the way some of these guys were driving early on.
Wow, I like that Coor's Light commercial! That is really cool. I can't drink Coor's Light though, it has a bad taste for me. Still, a great NASCAR commercial. Much better than the Sprint CEG commercials.
Johnson doesn't look like he will repeat last year's feat. But the race isn't half over yet, and Knaus can fix that problem, even if Johnson wrecks before he can get to it.
Mark Martin is lurking. Smoke is laying back, or perhaps they didn't fix that car as well as it looked earlier.
Debris brings out the second caution, close to where green flag pit stops would start. They showed the debris on camera. It looks like a piece of a tire. The caution came out right on time for a lot of drivers.
Question -- when is that Craftsman team going to get penalized for missing two lugnuts on each wheel?
McDowell is mixing it up with the big guys, loses, and makes a great save.on lap 137. Three wide in the turns at Richmond -- scary, but great.
Johnny Paul Montoya learned something about racing in the turns at Richmond and brought out the third caution. This race is fun!
Ouch! Good save by #20 crew jackman Jason Lee. Jumped over the hood and didn't miss a beat.
I'm not a big fan of the tech features all the networks run during the race, but that is good for the newer fans who are just learning this stuff. At least Fox is better at presenting a new feature every time rather than showing the same one over and over like ESPN did last year.
Driver I least like to see in the top ten? Carl Edwards.
Tell me Jr isn't one of the best car control drivers there are. That was another great save, on lap 154, and he only lost two positions.
Oh, by the way, Jeff Gordon got his lucky dog pass, and, by lap 175, is running in 15th. He has gained 28 positions since the start of the race, not counting the ones he lost while fighting his car, and fourteen positions since the last restart. The Drive is back Alive!
Prediction -- Mark Martin knows what he is doing. He will stay in second place until he needs to move. Then, near the last lap of the race, he will drive hard into turn three and pass Hamlin on the outside. Let's see if I'm right.
Fun stuff approaching the halfway point. If Kyle Busch and Mark Martin race each other for second and there isn't a caution, somebody is going to get schooled. Doh! Commercial. We won't get to watch.
It isn't JPM who brings out the fifth caution, even though he was about to blow another tire. It is a battle between two rookies, Allmendinger and Regan Smith. Smith wins. Kyle takes over second place during pit stops. Anybody ready for a battle between teammates? Should be fun!
We are finding out that another big difference between Talladega and Richmond is that you can't run three wide in the turns without something happening. The similarity between Talladega and Richmond is that you can have a huge multiple car wreck. Going through the funnel three wide at the exit of turn two causes a chain reaction that goes all the way to turn three, and at least eleven cars are involved.
Golly gee, another driver who should be doing a lot better than his record shows, Matt Kenseth, just can not catch a break! I want to cuss, but I don't do that well in print. It seems like Greg Biffle and Kenseth can't both have good luck during the same season. Jack Roush will find a way to blame it on Toyota, no doubt. Kurt Busch has also had a combination of good runs and bad luck, he was taken out in that wreck as well.
Red flag.
Tony Stewart will need a new battery. His alternator is gone. Bad news.
The 20 team does not change the battery and Stewart only loses two positions.
Question -- why don't they just run all the commercials they can during the red flag period, so they don't have to interrupt the race so much?
Great restart, Denny back in the lead. Soon Jeff Gordon is in fifth position. This is shaping up to be a great race at the end. Can't wait. See, they should have run these commercials during the red flag! I know I should be listening to MRN, but the radio reception here is lousy, especially at night. AM radio should be obsolete.
Another wreck during the commercial. I knew it!
After all that McDowell and Allmendinger have been through this race, it looks like they finally did each other in.
The anticipation builds during this caution. We are going to see some great fireworks in a few. Please don't rain.
Hello Newman! Everybody take a shot. He's in the top ten and moving up.
This is what I like to see! Two of the best drivers alive today, arguably the best, racing each other wheel to wheel. Smoke beats Gordon to move into ninth. To be honest, they weren't racing that hard, still saving brakes for the end.
The anticipation is still building with 100 laps to go. It looks like there may be green flag pit stops in the near future. That will be fun!
Have I mentioned that I love Richmond? This is the first time in this post I have. 60 laps to go and these guys are picking it up. They will driver their cars to the ground before the last pit stop, and they will know at that point what their cars need. Not to jinx anybody--the jinxed guys are out of contention anyway--but we can hope to see a thirty-lap or so shootout.
55 or so laps to go, and the green flag pit stops are beginning. This is a BIG part of racing.
Oops. Richmond brings out the tempers, as Casey Mears knocks Mikey Waltrip into that wall he has been hugging all night, and Mikey, whose split personality comes to the fore, retaliates viciously. Yep, that's right, Mikey gets parked for the rest of the race by NASCAR. By the time they push a microphone in his face, he will magically be the TV Mikey we all know.
We get to see another great racing match up as Junior shows some driving skills and catches second place Kyle Busch. Yeah! This is the good stuff! Unfortunately another caution cuts that battle short.
The race between the 18 and the 88 continues after the restart. And this is a thrill, and maybe even a little drama. To think there are people in this world who are missing this. Isn't there anything we could do for them?
With 25 laps to go, Earnhardt is in second, but Busch hasn't given up yet. The battle continues!
Wow! with 20 laps to go Hamlin reports a tire going down. Busch and Earnhardt are catching him. 17 laps to go and that Wow Meter pegs as Busch moves low and Earnhardt goes high. They go into turn one three wide, and come out of turn two with Earnhardt in the lead. What an incredible move. This is the Dale Jr we knew was in there somewhere.
And Denny is heartbroken. With ten laps to go, his tire is flat. To make matters worse he is penalized two laps.
But that is nothing like what happens next. Busch goes into turn one too hard and takes out Dale Jr, as he is leading the race. Bowyer takes the lead, and the fans are out looking for ropes. I would not want to be eating M&M's right now.
Green/white Checker, now the race is between Martin and Kyle Busch. Bowyer wins. That probably saved Kyle Busch's life.
Kyle better learn some diplomacy fast, as far as I can see. It is obvious that he wasn't trying to spin Jr, but it is still mistake to go into the turn so hard. I really like the way Kyle races, but that particular racing incident is not going to make the world's most unpopular driver any friends. He should have just thought "hey, that's Junior trying to win the race, so I will just lay back and let him win!"
Unfortunately, he is a racer, and racers don't think about things like that when they are racing for the lead with two laps to go.
And all that drama took away from the surprise and celebration of Clint Bowyer's victory. But that's just racin.'

Looking forward to Richmond

There is no mistaking that our favorite races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit take place at the tracks that are 1.36 miles in length or shorter. There are no "cookie cutters" here--every track is unique.

This group includes Darlington, Richmond, Bristol, Loudon, Dover, Martinsville, Phoenix, and Richmond. It is very difficult to pick a favorite out of these, but mine is Richmond. The frontstretch, with its long, 8 degree banked curve, and long turns with 14 degree banking at each end of the straightaways, make for some very interesting racing. Like most short tracks, it usually features plenty of bumpin' and bangin' while at the same time offering multiple grooves and side by side racing. Like most short track racing, the Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond will focus on drivers skills and guts.

Denny Hamlin is on a tear. Out of the last seven races this year, he has posted six top ten finishes, including five top fives and one win. That win was at the other Virginia short track, Martinsville, and there is no doubt that he could make it two for two in his home state.

He won't do it without some competition. There are several other drivers who consider Richmond their favorite track, and have records to prove it. Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt, Jr each have three wins at the track, and Kyle Busch has only finished outside of the top five in one out of six races there. Jimmie Johnson swept both Richmond last year, and Kevin Harvick has the top driver rating* at Richmond with a 121.2

*Driver Rating : Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race. (Racing One.com)

We can't overlook Mark Martin here, either, because he has 23 top ten finishes at Richmond, the most of any current driver. Ryan Newman, however has the best finishing average of all drivers who have raced in every Cup race at Richmond since 2002.

So the competition is going to be tough, the action fast paced, and the racing hard. There should be plenty of green flag racing, since there is some passing room there, but there will also be times when the traffic is thick, and mistakes will be made.

I'm guessing a JGR sweep of the top three places this week. All three drivers have the guts and aggressiveness it takes to win at a track like Richmond, and they arguably have the best cars in the field.

But then, the beauty of short track racing is that anybody can win.

Ten reasons why I love Richmond International Raceway

10. It's a high speed short track
9, It reminds me of PPIR
8. The drivers like it
7. The fans love it
6. Did I mention it reminds me of PPIR?
5. Saturday night circle burning!
4. It reminds me of PPIR
3. "Home" for Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, and Bootie Barker
2. It reminds me of PPIR
1. "Virginia is for Lovers!"

The emotional drivel of this fan watching the race

Note: That's Racing.com no longer allows users to publish their photos with credit like they used to. Bah to them. Their slideshow does however have some excellent pictures of the race. To view, click here.
After 161 laps at Richmond, I find myself with mixed feelings. The AM radio station that carries MRN/PRN doesn't come in well on Saturday nights--I can't hear it over the interference and squealing--so I'm not getting the full track play-by-play I like to listen to while watching the race.
For me, a Hendrick car leading the race is boring. I like to see The Gordon running back in the pack and racing, not just cruising around the track in the lead. Those who read this blog regularly know that, while I respect The Gordon's talent, I'm a Jeff Gordon Anti-Fan.
Dale Jr. is driving his heart out, and I find myself cheering for him. I don't consider myself a member of the "Junior Nation"--though I was part of the "Earnhardt Nation" until his father died--but I want to see him in the chase. I also want a die cast of the Budweiser Elvis car, and my birthday is in the middle of November, hint, hint.
If Dale Earnhardt was NASCAR's John Wayne, then Junior is definitely NASCAR's Elvis.
I also want to see Harvick make the chase, so I'm rooting for Kurt Busch to have some big problems.
Bad luck for Carl Edwards--just as he's leading the race and looking good, he loses an engine. I'm not an Edwards fan, but I like him. He's locked into the Chase, but he won't be getting any more of those important Chase bonus points.
Clint Bowyer is also locked into the Chase, but he'll be going in with no bonus points. It was his own fault. Great driving in that incident by Denny Hamlin, but we all know that he is a highly skilled driver.
I have mentioned before that the Formula NASCAR cars (eff-en cars, get it?) are hard to spin, but a lot of cars have spun in this race. The cars are top heavy, and have a lot of roll in the turns, so driver error will spin them, but they don't get aero-loose as easily as the conventional NASCARs, so I stand by that statement. The little grudge match between Johnny Paul Montoya and The Other Gordon proves my point, but those are also very talented drivers.
Millions of Junior fans can be heard cheering as Kurt Busch is involved in a wreck and Harvick picks up grass in the grill while avoiding the same wreck, and his engine overheats. Junior has been running in the top five, where he needs to run, and the fans are ecstatic.
I can't imagine Jeff Burton as a Black Sabbath fan at any point in his life, but there he is talking about his first concert at the age of fifteen, in a feature run during the red flag period. But Mark Martin and Dale Jarrett both like hip-hop, so you never can tell.
Fast forward to lap 267--the real race is going on up front between the two greatest active drivers in NASCAR! Smoke (my favorite driver, in case you didn't know) and The Gordon are racing hard for the lead. (Of course, I'm writing this during the red flag period after the Big One in lap 296, because I can't type while I'm on my feet, dancing, yelling, applauding, and scaring the heck out of my cats). DON'T WRECK EACH OTHER, GUYS! They won't, because they are excellent drivers and it's an excellent race. SMOKE TAKES THE LEAD!!! YEEE-AAAAAH!!!! Now I'm nervous, because there are still 131 laps to go, and I'm hoping, nervously, that nothing bad happens to Stewart while he's leading. So I'm still scaring the cats, and I still can't type because of all the pacing and dancing.
At the restart, Jimmy Johnson has taken the lead in the pits, but Smoke is in second, and we have confidence that if it stays that way, Tony will take the lead before the race is over. Still, the nervous factor is high.
Now it's getting bad, almost frustrating, as Robby Gordon blows a tire and brings out another caution, then, just as the green flag is waved, John Andretti blows an engine, spreading oil on the track and there is an immediate yellow flag.
Now, 45 laps to go and Junior is still racing hard, showing that he should, indeed be considered as one of the best, as he races The Gordon for second place. It seems that Smoke is laying back a bit, perhaps giving his good friend Junior a chance to gain the lead and some points. But, if he has to get to Johnson, he has to make his move, soon. With 33 laps to go he joins the fray, making it a three way battle between three of the best of the best. It is a thrill to watch, hitting a 98 out of 100 on the WOW meter. This battle has gone on for nearly twenty laps, and all of these guys are driving the wheels off their cars. The Gordon fades with 20 laps to go, but Junior and Smoke are racing each other at speeds faster than that of the leader. Also, with 20 laps to go, Kevin Harvick has clinched his spot in the Chase, and Junior is out. Then with about 8 laps to go, Junior has used his car up, and the engine gave up. David Regan, of whom I had serious doubts at the beginning of the season, briefly enters a battle with Smoke for second, but experience prevailed and Smoke pulled away through lapped traffic. But Stewart had begun his move to the front too late, and Jimmie Johnson wins the race. I have to admit, Johnson's victory celebration is awesome--with lots of smoke and burning rubber.
Smoke, himself is characteristically disappointed in his second place finish. This is a man who exists to race and win races, and he knows he had a car that could win, and in his words, he "let one get away."
So Johnson enters the Chase with a twenty point advantage over The Gordon, and a thirty point advantage over Smoke.
The storm that was predicted to reach the East Coast this weekend never materialized, and we were treated to one of the best races of the season. We can look forward to ten more great races. This race more than lived up to my high expectations.