NASCAR at Richmond 2015: Start Time, Ticket Info, Lineup, TV Schedule and More
Then there was one—NASCAR's Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday, the 26th and final race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular season.
One week removed from Carl Edwards' triumph in Darlington Raceway, several Chase spots remain up for grabs.
As things stand now, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin have a spot secure.
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For the rest, well, chaos. RIR stands as one of the most intriguing stops on the calendar each season and is a fitting way to end an epic season with plenty of drama to come. Here's a look at the season finale.
Viewing Details
Where: Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia
When: Saturday, Sept. 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET
Watch: NBCSN
Live Stream: NBC Live Extra
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
Sprint Cup Standings
| 1 | Kevin Harvick | 948 |
| 2 | Joey Logano | 906 |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 855 |
| 4 | Brad Keselowski | 837 |
| 5 | Jimmie Johnson | 817 |
| 6 | Martin Truex Jr. | 806 |
| 7 | Matt Kenseth | 776 |
| 8 | Denny Hamlin | 754 |
| 9 | Kurt Busch | 752 |
| 10 | Jamie McMurray | 726 |
NASCAR at Richmond Lineup
| 1 | Jamie McMurray |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski |
| 3 | Austin Dillon |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne |
| 6 | Trevor Bayne |
| 7 | Alex Bowman |
| 9 | Sam Hornish Jr. |
| 10 | Danica Patrick |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin |
| 13 | Casey Mears |
| 14 | Tony Stewart |
| 15 | Clint Bowyer |
| 16 | Greg Biffle |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 18 | Kyle Busch |
| 19 | Carl Edwards |
| 20 | Matt Kenseth |
| 22 | Joey Logano |
| 23 | Jeb Burton |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon |
| 26 | J.J. Yeley |
| 27 | Paul Menard |
| 30 | Josh Wise |
| 31 | Ryan Newman |
| 32 | Jeffrey Earnhardt |
| 33 | Brian Scott |
| 34 | Brett Moffitt |
| 35 | Cole Whitt |
| 38 | David Gilliland |
| 40 | Landon Cassill |
| 41 | Kurt Busch |
| 42 | Kyle Larson |
| 43 | Aric Almirola |
| 46 | Michael Annett |
| 47 | AJ Allmendinger |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 51 | Justin Allgaier |
| 55 | David Ragan |
| 62 | Reed Sorenson |
| 78 | Martin Truex Jr. |
| 83 | Matt DiBenedetto |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 95 | Michael McDowell |
| 98 | Timmy Hill |
Drivers to Watch
Brad Keselowski
Don't look now, but Brad Keselowski is on fire.
The Penske Racing driver touts five consecutive top-10 finishes, the latest a second-place effort in Darlington, South Carolina, after leading a whopping 196 laps. Some might consider leading a race-high lap total and not winning a disappointment, but Keselowski identified areas he needs to improve, per FoxSports.com's Jay Pennell:
"I needed to be a little bit better everywhere," he said. "Needed to be better on the restarts and a little better probably because I brushed the wall a little bit there. I just needed to be a little bit better everywhere to have a shot at the win."
It seems silly to talk about improvement considering how far Keselowski has come with those shaky finishes of 41st, 35th, 22nd and 29th now a distant memory.
Still, if he's going to take it another step further, look for it to come Saturday—Keselowski won this race last year after leading 383 laps then went on to win in Chicago.
Clint Bowyer
Clint Bowyer is interesting for any number of reasons, chief among them the impending demise of Michael Waltrip Racing.
More important for Richmond preview purposes, though, is Bowyer's standing when it comes to the Chase. He's on the bubble, needing to finish 28th or better, finish 29th with a single lap led or finish 30th with the most laps led.
Or he needs to win the whole thing outright, something he hasn't done since 2012 at Richmond. He spoke with the Associated Press' Dan Gelston about the event: "Richmond is one of those tracks that I've always had a lot of confidence in. She's been good to me. It's a fun race track, challenging. The second time around when the money's on the line, if you are on that bubble in the Chase, it's a pressure cooker for sure and pretty intense."
It seems hard to imagine Bowyer not in the Chase, but someone off the grid could always swoop in and steal a win, which would knock him out. Bowyer finished 41st, fifth and 17th over his last three, an up-and-down form making him one of the most interesting names on the bubble.
So it has come to this.
All year the globe has watched and wondered when Jeff Gordon would seize his first checkered flag in his final season. Now, though, he's make the rounds on lists of clinch scenarios.
Gordon hasn't had it easy over the past month, posting finishes of 41st, 17th, 20th and 16th last weekend in Darlington. In the same span, he's led just one lap.
The clinch checklist reads like this: finish 17th or better, 18th with at least one lap led or 19th with the most laps led. Pennell captured Gordon's thoughts on where he stands:
"All I've wanted this year is to end my career by being competitive. As competitive as we were last year it would be pretty disappointing if we didn't make it. I feel like we have been fairly competitive this year. I can't say that the reason we are in the position we are in right now is just because we haven't run well enough. We have just had some things that haven't gone our way. But we also haven't performed up to par with what we expected to do this year.
"
It's unwise to doubt Gordon, of course. He's raced in more difficult scenarios before. As fun as it would be to watch him cruise around RIR with a Chase berth in hand, it makes the final race of the season all the more interesting with his status still up in the air.
Maybe, just maybe, Gordon saved his best for last.
Stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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