NASCAR At Richmond: 2011 Chase Field Set As Kevin Harvick Wins

When Denny Hamlin wrecked just a few laps into Saturday night’s NASCAR race at Richmond, his Chase hopes suddenly seemed very much in doubt.

Hamlin was already hanging on to a wild card position as it was. Now, it seemed, he would need to rely on another driver failing to win the race in order for Hamlin to make the playoffs.

As he always does immediately after a NASCAR race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. climbed from his car at the end of Saturday night’s Chase cutoff race and walked around to inspect his No. 88 Chevrolet.

Sometimes, the scrapes and dents he sees are what he expects to find. But this time, after an early wreck at Richmond International Raceway, it wasn’t what he thought at all.

It is pretty clear Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson do not get along on the race track. They have had multiple incidents on and off the track this year and, with nothing to lose, the two got together once again Saturday night in Richmond.

The first incident came when Busch was under Johnson and locked up the tires going into the first corner. After the two made contact, Johnson hit the outside wall and received heavy damage to the rear of the No. 48 Chevrolet.

While other Chase bubble drivers struggled to overcome adversity Saturday night in Richmond, David Ragan knew what he had to do and did all he could to accomplish that goal.

A win for Ragan would have guaranteed a Chase wild card spot, and throughout the night he ran in contention for that win. Yet as the laps clicked away and Kevin Harvick drove away with the victory, a bad pit stall seemed too much to overcome as Ragan recorded his first top-5 since his win in Daytona.

“Kurt, can either you or Jimmie win the Chase…” Menzer began to ask.

Before Menzer could finish his thought, Busch cut him off.

In the end, the same 12 drivers who entered Saturday night’s NASCAR Chase cutoff race at Richmond International Raceway in position to make the playoff were the same 12 who made the field.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin all made the Chase, and Kevin Harvick held off Carl Edwards at the finish line to win the Wonderful Pistachios 400.

With the relationship between Clint Bowyer and Richard Childress Racing appearing to be a thing of the past, teams are looking to Bowyer as a possible addition to their organizations.

Among those teams with possible openings for Bowyer are Joe Gibbs Racing and Roush Fenway Racing. Both team owner Jack Roush and JGR team president J.D. Gibbs expressed interest in bringing Bowyer on as a part of their team Saturday in Richmond.

Finally! A race that isn’t threatened by rain.

Since Pocono on Aug. 7, every race has had a real threat of rain and two races (Watkins Glen and Atlanta) were rained out and postponed to later dates. Now, for the first time in a month, we get a race where the action on the track will not be threatened by Mother Nature.

Danica Patrick still has plenty to learn about racing in NASCAR, and that’s a bit disconcerting to some people. But here’s the thing about her lack of experience: She knows it, her team knows it, and they’re all cool with it.

So should we be cool with it, too?

Richmond International Raceway has been known to bring out the short-track tempers, and Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race was no different.

While a number of drivers were frustrated with one another, in a strange twist it seemed a few separate feuds became intertwined at one point in the race.

David Reutimann won’t be making NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup this season, but that didn’t slow him down during qualifying for the Chase cutoff race on Friday at Richmond International Raceway.

Reutimann grabbed a surprising pole position – his first since May 2009 at Dover – to lead the starting lineup for Saturday night’s Wonderful Pistachios 400.

Clint Bowyer has been answering questions about his possible departure from Richard Childress Racing for weeks, yet behind the scenes the No. 33 team has had to shrug off the rumors and focus on making the Chase.

That has not been the easiest thing to do for the crew guys as they speculate about Bowyer’s decision and their future within the organization.

Tony Stewart says there’s pressure to make the Chase – but it’s in the form of annoying questions from the media. Here’s part of the transcript from his media availability today that was televised live on ESPN.

Reporter: WHAT IS THE SITUATION LIKE FOR YOU RIGHT NOW?

Tony Stewart can occasionally be unpleasant toward reporters, as he was in a televised media availability session on Friday at Richmond International Raceway.

In light of that development, humorist @nascarcasm humbly submits this color-coded “Tony Stewart Anger Advisory Alert” system:

Many of the NASCAR drivers in Saturday night’s Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway will be running a car with a 9/11 tribute paint scheme.

After all, it is the eve of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

With the Chase looming, a great deal of emphasis is placed on momentum going into the final 10 races. Does it matter? Will it help your title chances?

Kevin Harvick said last weekend in Atlanta momentum means nothing, yet there seems to be no clear-cut consensus among drivers.

We all have crazy weeks every now and then, and four-time NASCAR champ Jeff Gordon is no exception.

But the last few days have been particularly nutty even by Gordon’s celebrity lifestyle standards. Check out what he’s done this week:

About five minutes into his media availability on Friday at Richmond International Raceway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. momentarily stopped himself to clarify how he felt about his Chase hopes.

NASCAR’s most popular driver holds a 25-point lead over 11th-place Brad Keselowski – and basically needs to stay within 24 positions of Keselowski to make the Sprint Cup Series playoff (give or take a couple, depending on whether either driver leads a lap).

Kevin Harvick Inc. will cease to exist in its current form following this season, team co-owner Kevin Harvick said Friday at Richmond International Raceway.

KHI announced Wednesday it was moving its Nationwide Series teams to run under the Richard Childress Racing banner at the RCR shop, but Harvick revealed more about his future plans in a Friday news conference at the track.

Brad Keselowski enters Saturday’s race at Richmond International Raceway locked into the Chase and among the favorites for the 2011 championship.

Climbing from 21st to 11th in the standings in six weeks, Keselowski said the team has been able to “execute at a really high level” as of late, but still has room to grow.

Clint Bowyer has faced questions about his contract situation for weeks, but the picture got a bit clearer Thursday in Richmond.

After team owner Richard Childress told Sirius NASCAR Radio it was getting “tougher and tougher” to find an agreement and they could not “get everything worked out,” Bowyer said it was “fair” to assume an extension was unlikely.

Nicole Polizzi, also known as “Snooki” of MTV’s Jersey Shore fame, was originally selected to wave the green flag prior to Saturday night’s NASCAR Chase cutoff race at Richmond International Raceway.

But those plans have changed, the track announced Thursday.

Mark Martin Responds To Regan Smith Incident

Following Tuesday’s rain-delayed race in Atlanta, Regan Smith was upset with Mark Martin after he got into the back of the Smith’s car, sending it hard into the inside wall.

There are 14 NASCAR drivers still mathematically eligible for just three Chase spots heading into the cutoff race Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.

But how realistic are the chances for each of the wild card drivers? Below are the Chase scenarios, driver quotes and our evaluation of their realistic chances.

The rain that has been plaguing the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast will finally be moving out. Katia has made a turn to the north-northeast and will continue to move back out over the Atlantic which will allow the stalled front and system that use to be Lee to move east and clear out the rain just in time for the Richmond NASCAR weekend.

There is just a small threat of a few lingering isolated showers on Friday morning the rest of the forecast looks dry. One could say we finally got the rain out of the way early so we can have a dry race weekend. By the afternoon Friday we should see some clearing and be dry for qualifying and the Nationwide race Friday Night. Saturday looks even better with no threat of rain and highs in the upper 80s. Detailed race forecast below.