The 2010 Nascar Chase has begun after last night’s Air Guard 400 at Richmond International Raceway. The race itself was less than exciting, in general. But the last 10 laps did get interesting as our native Richmonder Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag over team mate Kyle Busch. Coach Joe Gibbs had a great night in that his entries finished 1st, 2nd and 4th as Joey Logano came in just behind Jimmie Johnson.
Our boys didn’t fare real well however. Tony Stewart had improved his position to the top 5, but began dropping back like a rock after the 1st caution adjustment. Seems the team just couldn’t get those changes corrected and he finished the race in 16th.
Ryan Newman’s chance to get into the chase were dashed as Bowyer had a great race and finished in the top 10. But it was great seeing Ryan fight for all they had and finish the overall race in 11th.
And what happened to Dale Jr? He qualified well, starting in the top 10. But that was all he wrote. He dropped back during the entire race like a rock and finished 34th. All in all it was dismal year for Jr. But Sir Evil remain a true fan.
So our boys end the season like this:
| Regular Season Stats | ||||||
| Driver | Wins | Top 5s | Top 10s | 11-20 | 21-30 | 31-> |
| Tony | 1 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| Dale Jr | 2 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 3 | |
| Ryan | 1 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 4 |
| Joey | 3 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | |
The Chase for the Cup begins Sept. 19th in New Hampshire. The points have been reset and the standings going into the race are:
| RK | DRIVER | PTS | BACK | WINS | TOP5 | TOP10 | DNF | EARNINGS |
| 1 | Denny Hamlin | 5060 | – | 6 | 10 | 11 | 2 | $4,292,228 |
| 2 | Jimmie Johnson | 5050 | -10 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 4 | $5,338,436 |
| 3 | Kevin Harvick | 5030 | -30 | 3 | 11 | 17 | 1 | $5,164,351 |
| 4 | Kyle Busch | 5030 | -30 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 1 | $4,861,478 |
| 5 | Kurt Busch | 5020 | -40 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 2 | $5,464,010 |
| 6 | Tony Stewart | 5010 | -50 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 1 | $4,269,900 |
| 7 | Greg Biffle | 5010 | -50 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 2 | $3,734,487 |
| 8 | Jeff Gordon | 5000 | -60 | 0 | 10 | 13 | 2 | $4,379,398 |
| 9 | Carl Edwards | 5000 | -60 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 2 | $4,096,479 |
| 10 | Jeff Burton | 5000 | -60 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 0 | $3,943,397 |
| 11 | Matt Kenseth | 5000 | -60 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0 | $4,091,273 |
| 12 | Clint Bowyer | 5000 | -60 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 2 | $3,402,729 |
At last years Chase race in Richmond, the Little Prince decided he liked Carl Edwards. Perhaps because he was able to sit in Carl’s Nationwide Scotts car, which might have been a good luck charm for Carl. He won the Nationwide race that night. Or because the Prince really likes “The Duck” from Aflac. What ever his reasons, we’ll be following Carl from now on as his #2 guy.
So here’s hoping Tony and Carl smoke ’em all in the Chase! Good Luck Guys! And if not one of our guys, ANYONE BUT JIMMIE!!!!!!