2008 SPRINT CUP RACE 26: Chevy Rock & Roll 400 @ Richmond

Well this is it, the cutoff for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. It came down to a battle between Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, and David Ragan to clinch a spot. Odds were in Bowyer's favor due to winning the first Richmond race during the Spring and for his average finish record being very impressive. Kahne slipped from a solid Top 10 spot in the Chase due to mechanical problems and wrecks the past few weeks. David Ragan has been under the radar scoring Top 10s now and then but for the most part staying out of trouble. So who makes it in? Well, drivers would have to wait until Sunday to find out since the race scheduled for Saturday night was rained out as a result of a hurricane in the area. The weather also cancelled qualifying which put Kyle Busch on the pole yet again with Carl Edwards starting alongside in 2nd. The surprise driver of the race was David Reutimann, leading the most laps over Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, and Denny Hamlin. However, his car got to handling badly in the later parts of the race and he slipped to the back of the Top 10. During the race, Dale Jr. and Kyle Busch got together, reminiscent of the Spring race where Junior went around. Busch looked to have gotten spun out by Dale Jr. but that wasn't completely the case since it appears that Busch came down into Dale's lane to get his angle into the corner. Junior Nation of course believes it was payback but who am I to judge. Meanwhile, the Chase hopefuls were duking it out. Clint Bowyer was the highest running Chaser with Kahne and Ragan staying pretty close to one another. Later on, Ragan spun out collecting his teammate Matt Kenseth. In the closing laps, Jimmie Johnson had the race lead and coasted to the checkers going two in a row, fourth win on the year. Tony Stewart again fell short of victory, continuing his winless streak and David Reutimann the lap leader, came home 9th. Six Chevys, three Toyotas, and one Dodge got Top 10s. Clint Bowyer came into Richmond in 12th spot, and finishes in front of Kasey Kahne and David Ragan to clinch his spot in the Chase. Kahne being shut out means that no Dodges qualified for the Chase. Kyle Busch would enter Loudon as the point leader by virtue of his eight wins.

The Top 10:
1. #48 Jimmie Johnson (Chevrolet)
2. #20 Tony Stewart (Toyota)
3. #11 Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
4. #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Chevrolet)
5. #8 Mark Martin (Chevrolet)
6. #31 Jeff Burton (Chevrolet)
7. #29 Kevin Harvick (Chevrolet)
8. #24 Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet)
9. #44 David Reutimann (Toyota)
10. #2 Kurt Busch (Dodge)

The drivers are headed to Loudon for Stop #1 of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.