Last Minute Hurricane Preview of the Chevy Rock and Roll 400

In this calm before the storm it seems that it has taken me longer than usual to be able to get to this blog. Regardless, it's time for the thunder to roll, twice in Richmond. Let's cut to the chase (no pun intended) and get this going right off the bat.

My Top Picks:
1) Clint Bowyer – In the spring race there were three other cars that probably should have been in Victory Lane, but Bowyer knows how to put that car in a competitive position. He knows he's under pressure and he's had success here before, as everyone learned last year, don't count him out unless it just doesn't add up.
2) Denny Hamlin – Hometown track. Fantastic run in the spring. The only thing that'll stop him is being too conservative or another tire/accident. Hamlin probably would have been the winner in the spring race.
3) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - Honestly, Dale probably should have been in Victory Lane in the spring also.
4) Jeff Gordon – Teammate won last week, Hendrick cars historically strong at Richmond, and that No. 24 team is STILL without a win.
5) Kyle Busch – Frankly, Rowdy Busch should have been in Victory Lane for the spring race, as well.
(4/5 of the drives listed above EASILY could have, or did, win the spring race, therefore this week's actual number assignments don't matter too much)
Not What They Needed:
1) Greg Biffle – He's in the chase as long as he finds where his car is parked and he takes the green flag; however, this isn't the track the 3M Ford Fusion team needs to start off a strong Chase run.
2) Carl Edwards – Looking at trends with Edwards, Richmond seems to be a hit-or-miss track. Look for Carl to either give it his all to try to amass more bonus points, or finish mid-pack.
3) Matt Kesneth – What a trend! Roush drivers don't seem to take well to this track. Even though Kenseth has won here before, I don't think he'll be a factor in the final 'regular season' event.

Long Shots (for the win):
1) David Ragan – With a limited history to look upon, and the complete change of state this season for the No. 6 team, it seems that Ragan keeps landing on my long shots list. He's going to be a factor for championships someday, but he's going to have to beat Bowyer and Kasey Kahne, both great drivers at RIR, to be able to contend for this years Chase.
2) Ryan Newman – It's been 25 races since Newman has seen victory lane. I think he could give the Alltel Dodge a chance at victory, if he doesn't win, it's next to impossible for him to reach the Chase. How much Newman wants to move on to 2009 may outweigh what he should be concentrating on this year.
3) Kasey Kahne – To put it simply, this just isn't Kahne's year. He's done phenomenal at this three-quarter mile race track in the past; regardless, I don't think Kahne will make the Chase, but I do know he's going to be pushing that car as hard as it can go.

In The Rearview: Pepsi 500

Sometimes everything goes your way, and sometimes you end up looking like a fool. Although I am eager to write these blogs, henceforth they will be written AFTER practice and/or qualifying to keep me from looking foolish. Or maybe I'll continue to do things my way so you have my take before NASCAR.Com gives you theirs.
If you missed the race you didn't miss much, unless you're a Jimmie Johnson fan. Even then, I'd say the most exciting event of the evening was a caution light falling off the catch-fence for one of the sparse cautions, more of that later.
The No. 48 crew was able to flat-out dominate the rest of the field, in the early going and even through the end. Greg Biffle's team was the only team that could have even challenge for the lead, and that didn't pan out so well for The Biff.
With this race being so similar to Michigan it honestly makes me wonder why either of those two tracks have two dates. The fact that there are more deserving tracks out there, (e.g. Kentucky, Nashville, Kansas, Iowa Las Vegas...) that deserve either a chance at a Sprint Cup date or a second date. Pocono, Fontana and Michigan can probably all get by with only one race a year.

Smooth Sailing: This has to be given to the 48 team...no, no it doesn't. Even though I thought Johnson would be a long shot, he dominated the field and had great pit stops, HOWEVER, I was more impressed by Greg Biffle's team. They beat the 2 time series champ on pit road. So I give my 'Smooth Sailing' to the No. 16 pit crew- great job guys!

Uh-Oh: This one goes to NASCAR this year, Tony Stewart was the only title contender to finish in the lower half of the field (22nd). As far as I'm concerned it's time NASCAR realize what's best for it's fans and not just concern itself with markets.

Time to Pack It Up: Autoclub Speedway. I can't criticize any drivers this week, the strong finished well and the week finished towards the back. Everything went pretty much as expected. I hope and somewhat expect this So. Cal. track to lose it's second date within the next two years unless people start buying tickets to an extremely boring track, that has no place to be in the Chase.

What in the world?: It's raining...CAUTION LIGHTS?! The most entertaining part of the night was the caution light causing a caution. One of the track's caution lights fell off the fence to cause a caution, this due to the high amount of turbulence the cars create driving by as fast as they do. Later the same caution light had a piece fall off of it to cause another caution. This is rather pathetic, this being the most memorable part of the race
My Congratulations to the No. 48 team.