Tired of chasing, let's go racing...
Well, Richmond lived up to its billing as one of the hottest night spots on the gNA$hCAR circuit with one of the best races we've seen this year. Any time you have no idea who's going to walk away with the win until the checkered flag falls, you know you've seen an exciting contest.
We had a little of everything -- Lots of cautions, the drama of seeing which of eight drivers would make it to the Chase and which wouldn't, the "Big One," fuel and tire strategy, and a win by a guy who hasn't won since just about forever.
Now the 10 Chase contenders are locked in and we can sit back for the next 10 races and ignore the rest of the field like we would have been doing anyhow.
My picks looked brilliant about midway through when I had 8 of 10 in the top 11, but thanks to Jimmy Spencer and Casey Mears being boneheads on a restart, I wound up a miserable-looking 4-for-10:
GLENN'S TEN:
* Dale Jarrett (winner) -- 26th, On a night when DJ needed to be flawless he was anything but. The car didn't handle well all evening. He got down a lap and never made it back because there was always someone else ahead of him in line to get the Lucky Dog pass. Just disappointing.
* Mark Martin -- 5th, Despite others' best attempts to ruin Mark's night, he hung on for a solid finish to clinch a Chase spot. Have you ever seen a veteran this delighted to be in the hunt? He looked positively youthful in the post-race interview, and it had to be more than the Viagra. Wouldn't it be ironic if this is his year after four times as runner-up under the old points system? Watch out for the #6!
* Ryan Newman -- 20th, Got caught a lap down when the caution came out during green flag stops. We Flyin' Ryan fans were biting our nails in the waning laps as he battled to preserve track position and his slim points lead over 11th-place Jamie McMurray, all the while worried about having the fuel to go the distance. In the end, he finished just well enough to make the cut. But this isn't a championship squad right now, and we'll be going to tracks where Ryan hasn't run well. I hate to say it, but this isn't looking like Ryan's year.
* Jeremy Mayfield -- 1st! I'm not a Mayfield fan, but if you think his gratitude over standing in Victory Lane wasn't genuine then you haven't been paying attention since Jeremy last won in August 2000. More important, the win locked up a Chase spot. Let's see what Ray Evernham can do with it.
* Kasey Kahne -- 24th, Ouch. Bounced from the top 10 on the final day. Spinning out and getting caught a lap down at one stage didn't help matters. The car wasn't as good after the spin, but still he had made a run up through the field before getting caught down again on the pit stops.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- 2nd, Dale got caught up in the Big One that ruined the day for several of my drivers. Fortunately for Little E, his car sustained minor damage and was able to lead several laps. For a while he looked like a threat to sweep both races here.
* Jimmie Johnson -- 36th, Let's just say that Jimmy Spencer, Casey Mears and Dale Jarrett aren't high on his Christmas list right now. The three aforementioned drivers got to banging on each other after a restart, and ultimately Spencer and Mears got together, which resulted in Mears hitting the wall and several other cars wrecking to avoid him. Johnson got the worst of it, with a caved-in front that left him many laps down and robbed him of the points lead going into the Chase.
* Jeff Gordon -- 3rd, How does a guy with serious handling problems manage to put together this kind of finish? This is why he's a four-time champion on track for five. He takes the lead into the Chase.
* Kurt Busch -- 15th, Running out of gas before the finish is such a bummer! Would have won otherwise.
* Matt Kenseth -- 28th, Matt almost pulled one of his patented from-nowhere-to-the-front tricks, except that the crew had a very slow stop on pit road, then flubbed and left a jack wrench affixed to the car's rear-end. Matt lost a couple of laps in the process and never recovered.
REST OF THE TOP 10:
* Mike Bliss -- 4th, His second Cup start. The new Tony Stewart for Joe Gibbs Racing?
* Carl Edwards -- 6th, Maybe I should start taking him seriously.
* Mike Wallace -- 7th, Wins my underdog of the day award. He stayed out on a caution and old tires to lead 40 laps or so over a frustrated Mayfield. The #09 isn't as feeble as some of the other back markers.
* Greg Biffle -- 8th, Natch. On a day I didn't pick him.
* Jamie McMurray -- 9th, Just like Biffle. Except that he didn't finish well enough to ace Newman for the 10th spot. He made no apologies afterward, admitting that his team just didn't get the job done this season. Maybe next year. Not to feel too bad -- all his Gnassi teammates will be nonfactors too.
* Rusty Wallace -- 10th, OK, so maybe the farewell tour does start early.
OTHER NOTABLES:
* Bobby Hamilton Jr. -- 11th, Ricky Craven wouldn't have done this.
* Kevin Harvick -- 12th, High expectations, total deflation. No Chase this year.
* Bobby Labonte -- 16th, No Fatback, no chance. No Chase.
* Tony Stewart -- 19th, Everyone is excited about Joe Gibbs returning to the loser Washington Redskins. His winning gNA$hCAR franchise is adrift. Will Tony turn it on in the "postseason?" Coming weeks will tell us a lot about this team's future.
* Brendan Gaughan, Brian Vickers, Scott Wimmer and Scott Riggs -- 27th and 37th-39th respectively, These rookies just can't buy a break, it seems. Will Riggs be back next year? I'm betting not. Vickers' operation needs a serious overhaul. And DUI aside, Wimmer isn't as bad as the luck he's had, but he needs the offseason to regroup. Brendan Gaughan may be a great truck racer, but Penske's gonna tire of him by year's end if Kodak doesn't first. Only Kasey Kahne has lit 'em up in this year's rookie class.
Next week... The *real* Chase begins as the points are reset for the trip to the "Magic Mile" at New Hampshire.
