2008 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway

2008 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway:

The 2008 Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway will finally lock in the twelve drivers that will compete in the 2008 Chase for the Cup. All eyes are on Clint Bowyer and David Ragan as they will decide who the final Chase qualifier will be between them.

Tickets:

Speedway ticket office (866) 455-RACE

Buy online from TicketsNow (direct link)

The Track:

The 3/4-mile D-shaped oval has just 14 degrees of banking in the corners but it is enough banking to provide great racing. While the other short tracks on the circuit (Martinsville and Bristol) tend to force drivers to hug the inside line to be fast, Richmond has multiple grooves. Drivers can run side-by-side for laps on end with no clear advantage to either lane.

Race Distance:

400 laps = 300 miles

The Big Picture:

This is it! The final race before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins. The real drama this week is between Clint Bowyer and David Ragan. David Ragan is just seventeen points behind Bowyer for twelfth.

The top twelve:

1. Kyle Busch
2. Carl Edwards -204
3. Jimmie Johnson -365
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -428
5. Jeff Burton -517
6. Greg Biffle -592
7. Kevin Harvick -619
8. Tony Stewart -641
9. Matt Kenseth -670
10. Jeff Gordon -677
11. Denny Hamlin -686
12. Clint Bowyer -762

Storylines:

This race is all about the Race to The Chase. When the checkered flag flies on Saturday night twelve drivers will still have a shot at the 2008 Championship.

Clint Bowyer and David Ragan will be the center of attention this week.

Seventeen points is a very small margin on the track while the stakes are huge. One of those two drivers will have a shot at the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. The other will have to battle for 13th.

Who will score the final Chase spot? My money is on Clint Bowyer.

Media Coverage:

TV: ABC Saturday, September 6th, 7:00PM Eastern.

Radio: MRN and SIRIUS Satellite

Actual Race: 7:40PM Eastern

Recent Events:

2007 Winner: Jimmie Johnson

2007 Polesitter: Jimmie Johnson

Last Year:

Last year Jimmie Johnson added ten more points to his Chase bonus point total by winning the 2007 Rock & Roll 400 from the pole.

The battle to get into the Chase was equally uninspiring in 2007. Dale Earnhardt Jr. came into the final race 128 points behind Kevin Harvick. That nearly impossible task made the 2007 edition of this race much less exciting that the 2008 race is shaping up to be.

Predictions:

Clint Bowyer won in Richmond when the series was here in the spring. I think he will have another strong run this weekend. However, he needs to be conservative and protect his small point lead over David Ragan. That makes him less likely to win on Saturday night.

Jimmie Johnson won this race last year and his team is coming off a dominating performance last week in California. He is locked into the Chase so there is no difference for him between finishing 2nd or 43rd.

Jimmie has the team to get him to Victory Lane and winning is the only thing that matters at this point. He can earn ten Chase bonus points or not but all of his incentive is to win. This makes him a great pick for Saturday night.

For my backup pick I am going with the driver that thoroughly dominated here in the spring. Even though Clint Bowyer got the win it was Denny Hamlin who lead 381 of the 400 lap distance. However Hamlin had a tire go flat and was forced to pit under green. Hamlin finished 24th.

Hamlin proved that he has a great setup. In addition, the racing Gods in Richmond owe him one. Denny Hamlin makes a great backup pick this weekend in Richmond.