The Chase field is quickly becoming more clear, although anything is possible at the track that boasts "Racing Perfection," Richmond International Raceway. Due to a tenth place finish by Clint Bowyer at the Pepsi Shnoozefest at Auto Club Speedway, David Ragan (13th) and Kasey Kahne (14th) are still the outsiders looking in on The Chase. The battle for the 12th and final position in the 2008 Chase for the Cup looks to be between Bowyer, Ragan, and Kahne. Hamlin seems to be a lock in The Chase, especially after two solid finishes (3rd at Bristol, 3rd at California) in the past two races after throwing his fit at Michigan.
Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth still need to perform and stay out of trouble this weekend. Looking back to 2006, Kasey Kahne was the last driver to make the field after Tony Stewart had problems all night long at Richmond. Kahne had erased a 45 point deficit in 2006 at Richmond to take the last spot and goes into this weekend 46 behind 12th place, coincidence? Probably not.
What to Expect
Denny Hamlin to be very strong. Hamlin from Chesterfield, VA still has yet to win at RIR, after dominating the spring race to only lose a tire with 17 to go after leading 381 of 383 laps of the scheduled 400. The one thing that might keep Hamlin from victory lane is being overly conservative. We all know that he is quite aggressive, but racing for the win when you're 11th in points can prove disastrous.
Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to repeat the ending of the spring race. Both Earnhardt, Jr. and Busch have already locked themselves into The Chase and only have victory lane in mind. The two drivers already proved in the spring that their cars were fast and competitive, the only thing that these two drivers can lose is the 10 bonus points going into The Chase for not winning.
Kevin Harvick has the a 5.9 average finish at RIR and won in the fall of 2005. He's been hot lately and also finished 8th at Richmond this past spring. Richard Childress Racing has been great at Richmond over the past couple years, Clint Bowyer winning there in the spring. While Harvick is still looking for the first win of the season, he could finally reach victory lane in 2008 this Saturday night.
Kasey Kahne will be all or nothing. Race fans know what is at stake for Kahne this weekend. Kahne won his first cup race at Richmond in the spring of 2005, finished 3rd in the fall of 2006, and has the fifth best driver rating for active drivers at RIR. Former Gillett Evernham Motorsports driver, Jeremy Mayfield, raced his way into the Chase in 2004 by winning at Richmond and Kahne finished 3rd in 2006 to race his way into the Chase in 2006. History repeating itself on even years, Kahne may find the Chase again this Saturday with a 5th place or better finish.
Fantasy Picks
A:Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin.
B:Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Ryan Newman (for qualifying purposes).
C: Joey Logano and Brian Vickers. (Save Brian Vickers for an intermediate track in The Chase, and use Logano before he drives for Hall of Fame Racing later this year.)
Sleeper: Jeff Burton. RCR driver and Virginia native could do quite well this weekend after locking himself into the field on his 500th start.
BUSTS
A: Carl Edwards. Sorry guys, although he finished 7th in the spring. You're not counting the class of the field, Denny Hamlin, or Dale Jr. after Kyle got the ole bumper under him with a couple laps remaing. Not to say that he won't have a solid finish, just don't expect a win.
B: David Ragan. No sophomore slump here, but a lot of stress riding on the shoulders of a second year driver.
C: AJ Allmendinger. A good possibility for qualifying well, but Richmond tests your patience and AJ has not shown his yet.
