Chevy Rock & Roll 400 Race Review

Richmond International Raceway -- 09/06/08

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Monday Sep 8 2008 6:51pm

The NASCAR regular season is over and the Chase field is set. More about that in a moment - but first, the Richmond race.

After the passage of Tropical Storm Hanna, which forced postponement of both the Cup and Nationwide races in Richmond, Sunday's Chevy Rock & Roll 400 got underway on a near-perfect weather day for racing.

Due to the rainout of Cup qualifying Saturday, drivers lined up by owner points, with Kyle Busch on the pole.

This was certainly one of the better races of the 2008 season, with a number of lead changes and plenty of side-by-side racing throughout the field.
Busch showed some early speed, leading the first 29 laps until he was passed by Kevin Harvick, who'd started 7th.

Harvick was one of six laps leaders on the day in double or triple digits. In all, Busch led 53 laps, and Harvick, 80. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who looked stout in the mid part of the race, lead 90 laps.

One of the biggest surprises of the race was the performance of Michael Waltrip Racing's David Reutimann. All three MWR cars stayed out under caution on lap 243, with Reutimann assuming the lead.

With clean air on his nose, Reutimann was able to put some distance on the field, becoming the overall lap leader with 104 laps spent out front.

When the race restarted after a lap 314 caution, Reutimann was still in the lead, but Tony Stewart, running second, appeared to be closing the gap. Stewart took the lead on lap 349 and brought Johnson with him, who soon passed Reut as well.

The caution flew again about 10 laps later, but the 48 team got Jimmie Johnson off pit road ahead of Stewart. It was the first time Johnson led all day.

Stewart pulled alongside Johnson several times in the closing laps of the race as the two two-time Cup champions put on an exciting but clean battle, but Stewart couldn't quite pull of the pass. When Johnson crossed the finish line first, Stewart chastised his team over the radio for giving the race away on pit road.

Stewart finished 2nd, followed by Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Mark Martin. David Reutimann finished 9th, and Kyle Busch, 15th.

Johnson led 32 laps on the day; Stewart, 23.

While individual Chase drivers had their share of highs and lows throughout the day, all 12 Chase contenders held on to that status at Richmond - meaning Clint Bowyer is in, while the two drivers hoping to make the Chase, David Ragan and Kasey Kahne, are out.

This was the second year in a row that none of the 12 Chase drivers changed as a result of the outcome in Richmond.

With the Chase field established, NASCAR reset all 12 contenders' points to 5000, then added 10 bonus points for each regular season win. The only exception was Carl Edwards, who was not awarded 10 points for his California win because of a rules infraction.

The Chase group and their points are as follows:

1. Kyle Busch 5080
2. Carl Edwards 5050
3. Jimmie Johnson 5040
4. Denny Hamlin 5010
5. Clint Bowyer 5010
6. Jeff Burton 5010
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5010
8. Matt Kenseth 5000
9. Kevin Harvick 5000
10. Tony Stewart 5000
11. Jeff Gordon 5000
12. Greg Biffle 5000

In the coming days, expect to hear more about the fact that the four major Cup teams are equally represented in the Chase with three drivers each, but to the exclusion of all the other teams:

Busch - Hamlin - Stewart = Joe Gibbs Racing
Edwards - Kenseth - Biffle = Roush-Fenway Racing
Johnson - Earnhardt - Gordon = Hendrick Motorsports
Bowyer - Burton - Harvick = Richard Childress Racing

Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth remain the only two drivers to make the Chase all five years since its inception.

There are still five drivers in the Chase who have not won a race this season. They are Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Greg Biffle.