FYI WIRZ: NASCAR's Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon Pass Richmond

The Wonderful Pistachios 400 at Richmond International Raceway promised bumping and grinding on the 0.75-mile track as drivers raced for their last chance for a berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship Saturday night.

Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski were locked into the Chase before the green flag. The final three spots were secured by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. Earnhardt and Hamlin overcame wrecks to get in.

Wild-card spots were secured by Keselowski and Hamlin, but the real wildness seemed to be between Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson.

The Busch/Johnson rivalry heated up with short-track vengeance on several shared knocks by both drivers.

Kurt Busch denied saying words after the race about Johnson and their track confrontation even though Dodge agents sent out a press release with his quotes about midnight. His quotes follow.

“That’s not something you see from Jimmie Johnson every day so I know we’re in his head,” Busch said. “If we’re going to race this way, he’s got to worry that there’s 10 other guys in this Chase, not just the 22.”

Busch’s criticism continued.

“He’s got to learn to race,” Busch said. “He’s been able to beat guys the last five years just by out-driving ‘em with what he has for equipment.”

Busch’s chatter reportedly turned to anger and denial toward questioning media members in more than one instance after the race. When an AP reporter handed him a copy of his quotes that he denied saying—he tore her copies in half (@Jennafryer).

Busch may have a denial problem, but as the Chase for the Sprint Cup goes in the first race at Chicago, his real problems will be competition from 11 fierce contenders as the playoffs begin.

The three top drivers at Richmond—Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon, bring intense momentum into the fray and shared their thoughts before and after the green flag.

It’s almost certain that Harvick, Edwards and Gordon will not deny any of the following select quotes sent to media by NASCAR team representatives.

Press releases before and after races are routine.

All press releases utilized here were generated by electronic media and unlike printed copies distributed to media members at racetrack centers, they cannot be ripped in two.

Not even Kurt Busch can deny that.

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Chevrolet) Finished first. (Started seventh)

Before the green flag:

“I spent a lot of time racing at Phoenix and really from day one I’ve been successful on the flatter-type race tracks through the years,” Harvick said. “Richmond has been a very good race track for us. It has enough speed and it has enough room to move around and race. You just get that short track feel along with that intermediate feel with the speed to get all the race tracks in there and everybody just enjoys it.”

After the checkered flag:

“We had a really good Budweiser Chevrolet on the short runs. Just want to thank the fans and all of our troops for everything that they do for us to come out here and race,” Harvick said. “Carl (Edwards) was actually a little bit better than we were. I finally just started hugging the bottom and parking it and figured he was either going to have to knock me out of the way or go around the outside. It was a good race. A lot of fun.”

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Ford) Finished second. (Started eighth)

Before the green flag:

“It’ll be a purely fun race with no real stress because we’ve already made the Chase,” Edwards said. “It’s an opportunity to go there and have a good time and try to get a victory for Kellogg’s."

After the checkered flag:

“He did a good job staying on the bottom and I couldn’t get a run to get up to him at all,” Edwards said. “That was a great race. As much as I am frustrated for not winning, tonight was about remembering our heroes and what America is about. I appreciate the fans coming out here. Hopefully we bring all these troops home soon. It was a fun race and I am ready to go win this championship.”

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Chevrolet) Finished third. (Started 17th)

Before the green flag:

“I cannot wait for this race,” Gordon said. “With the new wild-card rule, it could get crazy on the track—and off the track with some of the pit calls and strategies. Some may be in a ‘must-win’ situation, but we’re in a ‘want-to-win-really-really- bad’ situation.”

After the checkered flag:

“I'm really excited about our race team right now. I look back at our season, all the changes that were made with basically me going to a whole different team and getting to know these guys, and learning how to communicate and how to get more competitive week in and week out."

“To win three races, to run the way we have and just gain the momentum, have a shot at winning that race tonight, man, this team could not be more pumped and excited about getting this Chase started next week, and Chicago is a great track for us. So look forward to the next ten weeks.”

FYI WIRZ is the select presentation of topics by Dwight Drum at Racetake.com. 

Unless otherwise noted, quotes and information were obtained from official release materials provided by NASCAR and team representatives.