September 6, 2008
Richmond International Raceway 
Richmond, Virginia 

Race 26 of 36 on Sprint Cup circuit
TV: ABC, 7 p.m. EDT

Laps: 400 
Track length: 3/4 mile 
Race length: 300 miles

Qualifying record: Brian Vickers, Chevrolet, 129.983 mph, May 2004 
Race record: Dale Jarrett, Ford, 109.047 mph, September 1997


DRIVERS TO WATCH
----------------

Jeff Burton
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 31 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $3,879,543

One of the circuit's most consistent drivers has struggled of 
late; ran in the top 15 through the first 17 races, but has an
average finish of 24th over past eight starts - including just 
one top 10 which came at the Brickyard; finished 17th at 
California to remain fifth in the standings, 521 points behind 
leader Kyle Busch; won first Bristol race for lone victory of 
the season; had 10 top 10s through first 19 races; finished 
eighth in last season's standings, one year after placing 
seventh; finished in the top 10 in half of the races last 
season, including nine top fives; lone win of the 2007 season 
came in April at Texas; finished the season strong with five 
top 10s over the final six races; ran 18th in this race last 
season.


Kyle Busch
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 18 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $5,443,888

Is in the midst of a stellar first season with Joe Gibbs Racing,
winning eight races and posting 15 top fives through 24 races; 
lead dropped to 208 points atop the standings after finishing 
seventh at California; win at Watkins Glen gave him a sweep of 
the road courses following victory at Sonoma in June; prior to 
win at the Glen had "slumped" with a 15th at the Brickyard and 
36th at Pocono; also ran dead last at the first Pocono race; ran 
17th at the first Bristol race after power steering failed and 
transmission issues relegated him to 38th at Martinsville; has 
wins at Atlanta, Talladega, Darlington, Dover and the second 
Daytona race; runner-up finish at Richmond was marred by a 
late-race incident with Dale Earnhardt Jr.; had the dominant car 
and led the most laps at the Daytona 500; is building off a 
solid run at Hendrick Motorsports in his move to JGR and Toyota; 
finished fifth in the final 2007 standings after qualifying for 
the Chase for the second consecutive season; had 20 top-10 
finishes last season, including 11 top fives; lone win came 
during the first Bristol race - the inaugural Car of Tomorrow 
event; ran 20th in this race last season.


Dale Earnhardt Jr. 
Team: Hendrick Motorsports 
Car: No. 88 Chevrolet Impala 
2008 Earnings: $3,522,745

The circuit's most popular driver dropped to fourth in the 
standings, 416 points behind Kyle Busch after running 11th at
California; snapped a 76-race winless stretch by winning first 
Michigan race on fumes; in nine races since has an average 
finish of 15 and just one top 10; was involved in a late-race 
incident with Busch at Richmond while racing for the win and 
wound up 15th; has 12 top 10s through 25 races; ran fifth at 
Bristol after a third at Atlanta and second at Las Vegas; was 
the top finishing Hendrick car at the Daytona 500 with a 
ninth-place showing; was involved in an early race crash at 
the first California race and finished 40th; made the move from 
his father's Dale Earnhardt Inc., where he won 17 Cup events, 
to Hendrick Motorsports; got off to a good start with his new 
team by winning the Bud Shootout; suffered through a tough 
final season at DEI, finishing 16th in the standings; had 12 
top 10s last season, but also posted 11 finishes of 25th or 
worse; finished 30th in this race last season.


Carl Edwards 
Team: Roush Fenway Racing 
Car: No. 99 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $5,597,125

Earned sixth win of the season at Bristol, then ran sixth at 
California to pull within 208 points of series leader Kyle 
Busch; finished second to Jimmie Johnson at the Brickyard - his 
fourth runner-up this season; was also second to Busch at 
Darlington, Dover and the second Daytona race; won at Texas for 
his third win of the season; was docked 100 points and fell from 
the top spot in the standings after being penalized after his 
win at Las Vegas; victory at Texas was his 10th career Cup win; 
had the dominant car again at Atlanta, but blew an engine and 
finished 42nd; ran 19th in the Daytona 500; qualified for the 
Chase last year and won at Dover after placing 12th at New 
Hampshire, but failed post-race inspection and was docked 25 
points; penalty dropped him from third to sixth in the 
standings and he never recovered; won the 2007 NASCAR Busch 
Series championship; finished 42nd in this race last year.


Jeff Gordon
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 24 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $4,118,044

Ran 10th at Pocono for his 10th top 10 of the season, but has 
struggled since and has dropped to 10th in the standings after
running 15th at California;has yet to win this season but has 
nine top-fives; has four DNFs this season after posting just 
one last year; rebounded to finish fifth at Atlanta after being 
involved in a scary late-race crash at Las Vegas where he 
finished 35th; bounced back with a third at California after 
opening 2008 season with a disappointing 39th in the Daytona 
500; only a dominant finish by teammate Jimmie Johnson kept him 
from capturing a fifth championship last season; finished with 
10 top-10 finishes in the final 11 races - the other finish in 
that span was an 11th at Dover; totaled a remarkable 30 top-10 
finishes and 21 top fives in 36 races last year; had six 
checkered flags last season and 81 career, just two shy of 
tying Cale Yarborough for fifth place all-time; ran fourth in 
this race last year.


Jimmie Johnson 
Team: Hendrick Motorsports 
Car: No. 48 Chevrolet Impala 
2008 Earnings: $5,024,715

Halted poor stretch of 17th at Michigan and 33rd at Bristol by
winning at California and moved up to third in the standings; 
finished third at Pocono following a win at the Brickyard and 
runner-up at Chicago; two-time defending series champion blew a 
motor at Lowe's and finished in 39th place; bounced back with 
three top 10s, including a sixth at Michigan; picked up his 
first win of the season at Phoenix; had a disappointing 
three-race stretch at Las Vegas, Atlanta and Bristol when his 
average finish was 20th; ran second at California after 
starting this campaign with a 27th at the Daytona 500; battled 
teammate Gordon for the top spot in the Chase early last season, 
then took off - winning four straight races over the second half 
of the Chase; finished last season with 10 wins, 20 top fives, 
24 top 10s, yet failed to finish four races; won this race last 
year.


Kasey Kahne
Team: Gillett Evernham Motorsports
Car: No. 9 Dodge
2008 Earnings: $4,941,683

Chase hopes took serious hit with consecutive 40th place 
finishes at Michigan and Bristol; dropped to 14th in the 
standings, 48 points outside the Chase after running eighth at
California; bounced back from a disappointing 33rd at Sonoma and 
30th at Loudon by running seventh at Daytona, 15th at Chicago 
and seventh at the Brickyard; finished second to Dale Earnhardt 
Jr. at Michigan; won first Pocono race from the pole; had a 
stellar two weeks at Lowe's, winning the Sprint All-Star 
Challenge then snapping a 52-race winless skid by taking the 
checkered flag in the Coca-Cola 600; has 12 top 10s this season; 
after winning six races in 2006, struggled in 2007 when he 
finished 19th in the standings with just one top five and eight 
top 10s; also had six DNFs and dipped as low as 36th in the 
standings at one point; took on the famed Budweiser sponsorship 
after Earnhardt moved to Hendrick Motorsports; finished eighth in 
this race last year.


Matt Kenseth 
Team: Roush Fenway Racing 
Car: No. 17 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $3,962,588

Finished fifth at California and sits ninth in the standings; 
ran third at Daytona and first Michigan race; finished 38th at 
Richmond and 41st at Talladega; ran 38th at Phoenix following a 
ninth at Texas and 30th at Martinsville; had consecutive top 10s 
at Bristol and Atlanta; was 20th at Las Vegas due to a late-race 
incident with Jeff Gordon; ran fifth at California, fresh off a 
disappointing 35th place showing at the Daytona 500; last season 
had a late-Chase surge with a win at the season-ending race at 
Homestead, following a third at Phoenix and a second at Texas; 
finished fourth in the final standings; had 13 top five finishes 
and 22 top 10s last season; won the series championship in 2003 
despite capturing only one checkered flag, prompting NASCAR to 
change to its current Chase format; enters this season without 
long-time crew chief Robbie Reiser who has been replaced atop 
the box by Chip Bolin; ran 14th in this race last year.


Tony Stewart 
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing 
Car: No. 20 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $4,621,436

Finished 22nd at California; slid to a 23rd-place finish after 
running well at the Brickyard; finished fifth at Chicago in 
first race since announcing he will leave JGR at the end of the 
season to drive for his own Stewart-Haas Racing team next 
season; fell ill at Daytona and was relieved by J.J. Yeley who 
finished 20th; was involved in an early crash at Dover and 
finished 41st; came close to winning at Lowe's, but cut down a 
tire with three laps remaining while leading and finished 18th; 
finished 38th at Talladega then bounced back to finish fourth at 
Richmond; ran 14th at Phoenix following back-to-back top-10 
finishes at Martinsville and Texas; finished second to teammate 
Kyle Busch at Atlanta, but was vocal about the poor Goodyear 
tire quality; suffered a hard crash at Las Vegas, injured his 
ankle and finished last; had another disappointment in the 
Daytona 500, finishing third despite having the lead with one 
lap to go; finished second in this race last year.


2007 Top 10
-----------
 1. Jimme Johnson (48), Chevrolet
 2. Tony Stewart (20), Chevrolet
 3. David Ragan (6), Ford 
 4. Jeff Gordon (24), Chevrolet
 5. Johnny Sauter (70), Chevrolet
 6. Denny Hamlin (11), Chevrolet
 7. Kevin Harvick (29), Chevrolet
 8. Kasey Kahne (9), Dodge 
 9. Kurt Busch (2), Dodge
10. J.J. Yeley (18), Chevrolet

Past Champions
--------------
2007  Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 126.298 mph
2006  Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 101.342 mph
2005  Kurt Busch, Ford, 98.567 mph
2004  Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 98.946 mph
2003  Ryan Newman, Dodge, 94.945 mph
2002  Matt Kenseth, Ford, 94.787 mph
2001  Ricky Rudd, Ford, 95.146 mph
2000  Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 99.871 mph
1999  Tony Stewart, Pontiac, 104.006 mph
1998  Jeff Burton, Ford, 91.985 mph
1997  Dale Jarrett, Ford, 109.047 mph
1996  Ernie Irvan, Ford, 105.469 mph
1995  Rusty Wallace, Ford, 104.459 mph
1994  Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 104.156 mph
1993  Rusty Wallace, Pontiac, 99.917 mph
1992  Rusty Wallace, Pontiac, 104.661 mph
1991  Harry Gant, Oldsmobile, 101.361 mph
1990  Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 95.567 mph
1989  Rusty Wallace, Pontiac, 88.380 mph
1988  Davey Allison, Ford, 95.770 mph
1987  Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 67.074 mph
1986  Tim Richmond, Chevrolet, 70.161 mph
1985  Darrell Waltrip, Chevrolet, 72.508 mph
1984  Darrell Waltrip, Chevrolet, 74.780 mph
1983  Bobby Allison, Buick, 79.381 mph
1982  Bobby Allison, Chevrolet, 82.800 mph
1981  Benny Parsons, Ford, 69.998 mph
1980  Bobby Allison, Ford, 70.722 mph
1979  Bobby Allison, Ford, 80.604 mph
1978  Darrell Waltrip, Chevrolet, 79.568 mph
1977  Neil Bonnett, Dodge, 80.644 mph
1976  Cale Yarborough, Chevrolet, 77.993 mph
1975  Darrell Waltrip, Chevrolet, 81.886 mph
1974  Richard Petty, 74 Dodge, 64.430 mph
1973  Richard Petty, 73 Dodge, 63.198 mph
1972  Richard Petty, 72 Plymouth, 75.899 mph
1971  Richard Petty, 71 Plymouth, 80.025 mph
1970  Richard Petty, 70 Plymouth, 81.476 mph
1969  Bobby Allison, 69 Dodge, 76.388 mph
1968  Richard Petty, 68 Plymouth, 85.659 mph
1967  Richard Petty, 67 Plymouth, 57.631 mph
1966  David Pearson, 65 Dodge, 62.886 mph
1965  David Pearson, 65 Dodge, 60.983 mph
1964  Cotton Owens, 64 Dodge, 61.955 mph
1963  Ned Jarrett, 63 Ford, 66.339 mph
1962  Joe Weatherly, 62 Pontiac, 64.980 mph
1961  Joe Weatherly, 61 Pontiac, 61.680 mph
1960  Speedy Thompson, 60 Ford, 63.740 mph
1959  Cotton Owens, 59 Thunderbird, 60.380 mph