NASCAR: NSCS -- Richmond: Air Guard 400 Results

Image by sidehike via Flickr
Denny Hamlin put in a dominating performance at his hometown track, Richmond International Raceway, Saturday night to win the Air Guard 400 and clinch the top spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.  Hamlin led six times for a race-high 251 laps (of 400), including the final 69, and held off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch in the closing laps.

It was Hamlin's second win at the track; he has now won consecutive September Richmond races.  It was his series-leading sixth victory of the season and the 14th of his career.

Hamlin beat Busch to the finish line by 0.537 seconds.  Jimmie Johnson finished third, followed by Joey Logano and Marcos Ambrose.  (Race results)

Greg Biffle clinched his spot in the Chase on Lap 48 when Jason Leffler retired to the garage.  That guaranteed Biffle at least 42nd place in the race, all he would need if Ryan Newman, the 13th place driver, could win and lead the most laps.  Biffle finished 32nd, five laps down.

Clint Bowyer came into the race needing to finish 28th or better to guarantee his spot in the Chase.  He started fourth, led three times for 33 laps, and finished sixth.

Newman finished eleventh and never led a lap.

All in all, it was pretty uneventful for a Richmond race -- no Chase drama and only three cautions on the night.  David Reutimann blew a tire and spun to bring out the first yellow on Lap 55.  Terry Labonte, who failed to make the race in Friday qualifying but replaced Mike Bliss in the No. 55 Prism Motorsports car, brought out the second caution when he blew a tire and hit the wall on Lap 145.  The final caution came out on Lap 226 for some light rain on the track.

The victory gives Hamlin the top seed in the Chase, putting him ten points ahead of Jimmie Johnson going into next week's race at Loudon, New Hampshire.  The points are reset now with each Chaser getting 5000 points plus ten bonus points for each victory in the "regular season."  This is the first time Hamlin has led the points standings in his career.

The Chase seedings:
1.  Denny Hamlin  5060
2.  Jimmie Johnson  -10
3.  Kevin Harvick  -30
4.  Kyle Busch  -30
5.  Kurt Busch  -40
6.  Tony Stewart  -50
7.  Greg Biffle  -50
8.  Jeff Gordon  -60
9.  Carl Edwards  -60
10. Jeff Burton  -60
11. Matt Kenseth  -60
12. Clint Bowyer  -60

NASCAR: Richmond - NNS: Virginia 529 College Savings 250 Results

Image by Bristol Motor Speedway & Dragway via FlickrKevin Harvick held off a hard-charging Brad Keselowski to pick up the victory in Friday night's Nationwide Series race at Richmond, the Virginia 529 College Savings 250.  It was Harvick's third Nationwide win of the year and the 37th of his career, third all time in the series.  It was Harvick's fifth Nationwide win at Richmond, tying him with Mark Martin for most series wins at the track.

It was an impressive performance by Harvick and Keselowski, the series points leader, in the third race in the new Nationwide car.  Harvick led a race-high 170 laps.  Keselowski fell two laps down around the midpoint of the race due to problems on pit road, but rallied to take the lead from Kyle Busch on Lap 163 (of 250).  Harvick took the lead from Keselowski on Lap 197, and held him off the rest of the way.  It was a close thing though.  Lapped traffic allowed Keselowski to close in on Harvick in the final laps and challenge him for the win.  Harvick slapped the wall on the next-to-last lap, but managed to hang on and cross the finish line 0.256 seconds ahead of Keselowski.

Trevor Bayne finished third, tying a career best in the series.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fourth, followed by Reed Sorenson.  (Race results)

Kyle Busch was going for a record 11th Nationwide Series win of the season, but had problems on a pit stop on Lap 205.  The nozzle broke off on one of the gas cans and Busch drove away with it still stuck in the car.  Penalized for taking equipment from the pits, Busch restarted 21st, but rallied to finish ninth.

Keselowski increased his lead in the Nationwide point standings to 373 over Carl Edwards, who finished tenth.

NASCAR: Richmond Preview

Image by Bristol Motor Speedway & Dragway via FlickrNASCAR is on a tight schedule at Richmond International Raceway this weekend.  The Sprint Cup race, the Air Guard 400, is set for 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC).  The Nationwide race, the Virginia 529 College Savings 250, is already underway (ESPN2).  The Camping World Truck Series is off this weekend; they'll be back next weekend at Loudon.

Unlike past years, there's not a lot of drama going into this final race of the "regular season" over who will make the Chase.  Ten drivers have already qualified.  If 13th place Ryan Newman wins Saturday night and leads the most laps, earning the maximum 195 points, Greg Biffle needs to finish 42nd or better and Clint Bowyer needs to finish 28th or better to make the Chase field.  Bowyer leads Newman by 117 points in the points standings.

Carl Edwards earned the pole for Saturday night's race in the just completed qualifying session.  Edwards ran a lap of 21.13 seconds (127.762 mph), edging Juan Pablo Montoya (21.18 seconds, 127.455 mph).  A. J. Allmendinger will start third, followed by Clint Bowyer and David Reutimann.  Bobby Labonte needed to use the past champion's provisional to make the field.  That meant that the provisional wasn't available for brother Terry, who was making his first attempt with a new team, Stavola Labonte Racing.  Michael McDowell, Todd Bodine, Scott Riggs and Brian Keselowski also failed to make the 43-car field.  (Race lineup)

Mattias Ekstrom will be driving the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota.  The two-time German Touring car champ made his NASCAR debut in June at Infineon Raceway.  This will be Ekstrom's oval debut. Brian Vickers is scheduled to be back in the car next season.