This week we head to Richmond for a Saturday night race and the final race before the Chase starts. Kyle Busch will get his ninth win of the season and take a 40 point lead with him heading to the Chase. Kyle has 6 top 5 finishes at Richmond in only 7 starts. That includes 3 runner-up finishes and this time he won’t be denied.

            The top competition for Kyle is going to come in the forms of Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin this weekend. Jimmie swept both races here last year while Denny lead the most laps this spring and has 3 top 10 finishes in his 5 starts at Richmond.

            Clint Bowyer won the race here this spring and needs another top 10 finish to get himself into the final spot in the Chase. Right now Clint has a 19-point lead over David Ragan for the final spot. David has finished 20^th 3^rd and 17^th in his 3 Cup starts at Richmond and can capitalize on any mistakes made by the 07 team this weekend.

            Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman will be teammates next season at Stewart-Haas Racing. Both of them do very well at Richmond but I’m not sure how much emphasis their owners are putting on getting them a win anymore this season.

            Dale Earnhardt Jr. has 3 wins at Richmond and would like nothing better than to gat another one heading into the Chase. Dale hasn’t had a top 10 finish here since winning in the spring of 2006. I’m sure that this team isn’t going to make the same mistake that they did with the camber on the car anymore in the foreseeable future.

            Kevin Harvick has reeled off 7 straight top 10 finishes including a win at Richmond over the last few years. This is a team that has quietly made solid showings most every week and could be a big surprise to everyone once the Chase starts.

            Matt Kenseth is in the same boat as Kevin Harvick. This team has also gotten the job done without much fanfare throughout the year. Matt would also love to get his first win of the year heading into the Chase. It is going to be a big hole for teams entering the Chase without a win to make up the 80 or 90 points that Kyle Busch will have starting out.

            Carl Edwards got his first ever Cup start at Richmond and made an impressive showing coming away with a 6^th place finish. That has been the best he has ever finished at Richmond. That doesn’t mean that he can’t win this weekend but he is just too inconsistent to put your money on.

            Jeff Gordon has struggled most of the year but will still make the Chase. I don’t look for him to be much of a factor when it comes to challenging for the championship this year but if he’s going to run well anywhere it will be at the short flat tracks like Richmond. Jeff has 3 straight top 10 finishes at Richmond but 4 straight finishes of 30th or worse preceded that.

            Yahoo Picks for Richmond

            Group A

            Denny Hamlin (starter)

            Jimmie Johnson

            Group B

            Kyle Busch (starter)

            Ryan Newman (starter)

            Mark Martin

            Kasey Kahne

            Group C

            Travis Kvapil (starter)

            Brian Vickers

            Top 5 Overall at Richmond

1.      Kyle Busch

2.      Denny Hamlin

3.      Jimmie Johnson

4.      Kevin Harvick

5.      Greg Biffle

As always you can Email me with any questions, comments or suggestions at gutsamaniac@hotmail.com. Good luck once again this weekend and remember that it is a Saturday night race!