NASCAR and Crown Royal Present The Heath Calhoun 400 from Richmond: Preview

Richmond,VA April 28, 2010

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rolls into Richmond, Virginia this weekend for a doubleheader with the Nascar Nationwide Series at Richmond International Raceway.

The Bubba Burger 250 is set for Friday night at RIR along with a big day of practice, Nationwide Series qualifying, and Sprint Cup pole qualifying.

Saturday, it's the Crown Royal Presents The Heath Calhoun 400 from Richmond International Raceway.

Kyle Busch won this race a year ago on his birthday. Clint Bowyer scored his first win here only two years ago, when the final few laps came down to Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Busch—and, well, everyone seems to remember what happened that night.

Dale, Jr. last won at Richmond in May of 2006, and also has wins in May of 2004 and May of 2000. The spring race has always been good to Dale, Jr., and he always runs well in the fall race also. Can Dale Earnhardt, Jr. snap a winless streak dating back to Michigan in 2008 this weekend at RIR?

After heartbreak several times at Richmond (including a dominant performance in the spring of 2008 only to lose because of a tire failure), Denny Hamlin scored victory at Richmond last September in the last race before the Chase. Hamlin has wins at Martinsville and Texas this year and a Top-Five finish at Talladega. Hamlin could easily be on his way to victory again this weekend and is a driver to watch in his hometown of Richmond. Hamlin will have a charity race at Southside Speedway Thursday.

The battle of the four-time champions will also be on everyone's mind this week at RIR. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have both been in the media after incidents in Texas and Talladega. Johnson comes into Richmond with a 26-point lead over Kevin Harvick. He has three wins at Richmond, and Gordon has two wins at RIR.

Will we see anything continue over between these two drivers in the bull ring in Richmond?

Tune in Saturday night on Fox starting at 7:30pm for live coverage from Richmond.