SPRINT Chevy Rock & Roll 400
Final
Chevy Rock & Roll 400 Preview
Sep 5, 2008 - 10:21 AMSeptember 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
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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
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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
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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