This weekend at Richmond International Raceway, it’s all about winning for almost everybody.
For the top 10 drivers, no matter if they finish 33rd through 43rd, they’re locked in the Chase. Nine are locked into their points positions and Tony Stewart, 10th in the standings, is locked into at least a wild-card berth because he has three wins.
So what’s critical about Richmond? It’s about three more bonus points that are available for somebody in that group, or it’s about making the Chase if you are a driver trying to get the wild card. All of them need a win.
That’s a great agenda.
For those five guys that have one win but are outside the top 10, I don’t even know how you could put a price on winning Richmond. It basically means making the Chase.
Then there are drivers like Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick that are locked in the Chase but still have a goose egg in their win column.
Then there are all the other drivers that have not been to Victory Lane this year, like Carl Edwards -- who led 206 laps at Richmond in the spring; Paul Menard, who is not going to make the Chase but has not won; Jeff Burton, Jamie McMurray, Juan Pablo Montoya ... how great would it feel to those drivers who have been struggling to end the 26 race-schedule with a trip to Victory Lane.
The only two guys that honestly are looking at points, in my book, are Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon. They both know if they cannot win, then being in front of the other one is pretty darn important to making this Chase.
More important, though, is the win that will be on everyone’s mind Saturday night.
