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“The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, ” words made famous on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, has been a staple of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series’ September visit to Richmond (Va. ) International Raceway, as the 26th event on the 36-race Nextel Cup schedule is the cutoff race for drivers to make the 10-race Chase for the Nextel Cup.
In year’s past, only 10 drivers qualified for the Chase, with a spirited battle among a handful of drivers at Richmond to either stay within the top-10 or break into the top-10. In 2007, 12 drivers are eligible for the Chase, and unless 12th-place Kevin Harvick finishes outside the top-30 at Richmond and 13th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr., wins, there is unlikely to be a change among the top-12 drivers vying for this year’s championship.
While that might disappoint some, Tony Stewart isn’t one of them. The driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing clinched a spot in this year’s Chase via a fourth-place finish two weeks ago at Bristol (Tenn. ) Motor Speedway.
It’s a reversal of fortune for the two-time Nextel Cup champion, for in last year’s September race at Richmond, Stewart fell out of the top-10. Displaced by Kasey Kahne for the final spot in the Chase, Stewart endured the agony of defeat gracefully, exiting his car and answering reporter’s questions before leaving the garage area.
A repeat scene for some other driver is unlikely come Saturday night’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400. The driver lineup for the Chase is all but sealed. The teeth-gnashing and hand-wringing will have to wait until next year.
For Stewart and the other 11 drivers in this year’s Chase, it’s all about winning and getting the last 10-point bonus before their points are reset to 5,000 after Richmond, with each driver getting an additional 10 points for each of their respective wins during the regular season.
Stewart has 30 bonus points for his three wins at Chicagoland, Indianapolis and Watkins Glen (N. Y.), which currently puts him third behind five-time race winner Jimmie Johnson and four-time race winner Jeff Gordon. Behind Stewart are two drivers with two wins and six drivers with a win apiece, and Stewart would like nothing more than to expand that difference with a win at Richmond, something he’s done three times in Cup and twice in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
