The Final Lap with Kerry Murphey

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet) is looking to build upon some momentum he created with his second-place finish last week at Talladega. The finish moved Earnhardt up four positions in the point standings to 15th, currently 45 points out of the top 12. Richmond has been one of Earnhardt’s most successful tracks, as he’s posted three wins, eight top fives and 10 top 10s there.

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ON RICHMOND
“I like Richmond a lot. We always thought we run good there ’cause it’s a lot like Myrtle Beach, where I ran a lot in the late models. There’s a lot of similarities. But I just like short-track racing. We seem to do really good on the short tracks. It’s got a lot of different grooves that you can run. You can move around. I think it puts on one of the more exciting races in the season. It ranks right up there as some of the best. “ …

ON CONSISTENCY
“We just have to finish like we did Sunday, and not have any problems. I think we’re doing a better job on pit road. I think we changed some things around with individuals. We got a little bit faster pit crew. We did a real good job this weekend. Other than that, we have a couple of good race tracks coming up. We do pretty good at Darlington. I always love running at Charlotte. I can’t wait to get there. …

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Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge), the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, is back on top of the point standings for the first time since March 13, 2005.

Busch moved up two spots in the standings last week following his sixth-place finish at Talladega, his sixth top-10 showing on the season. He holds a slim five-point lead over four-time series champion Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) heading into Richmond.

Busch has had mixed success at Richmond. In 16 career starts there, he has one win (Sept. 2005), two top fives and five top-10s, but only an average finish of 19.1.

Busch’s 93.1 Driver Rating at Richmond ranks just eighth among the current top 12 drivers. However, his season Driver Rating of 103.1 ranks fourth best among the top 12.

“I really enjoy racing at Richmond,” says Busch. “Both of the races there are pure excitement. They call Richmond the ‘action track.’ We can race low, we can race in the middle or you can race in the high groove. There’s always some good action on the race track at Richmond.”

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Richmond International Raceway — the site of Race 10 on the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule — has proven to be pivotal to the hopes of potential Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup contenders.

Nearly 80 percent of the drivers who have been Chase eligible coming out of the spring Richmond race have gone on to qualify for the Chase, with the championship field set following the second Richmond race. The breakdown is as follows: 2004 (8-10); 2005 (6-10); 2006 (8-10); 2007 (11-12); and 2008 (10-12). The drivers know good and well that how they stand after Saturday night’s 300-miler at this .75-mile D-shaped oval, will serve as a good barometer in gauging their championship hopes.

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