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By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photo

(September 10, 2010)

RICHMOND, Va.—Polesitter Kevin Harvick held off Nationwide Series points leader Brad Keselowski during a 40-lap run to the finish to win Friday night’s Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway.

In the first race at Richmond and third overall with NASCAR’s new Nationwide car, Harvick crossed the finish line .256 seconds ahead of Keselowski, who extended his championship lead to 373 points, over Carl Edwards, who ran 10th. Trevor Bayne finished third, tying his career best. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. came home fourth, followed by Reed Sorenson.

The victory was Harvick’s third of the season and 37th of his career, third all-time in the series. The owner/driver for Kevin Harvick Inc. led 170 of the 250 laps and was elated with the progress his No. 33 team had made with the new car.

“This is the future of our company, so we put a lot of effort into this program, knowing that all the other cars were going to go away, and knowing that we had to be good with this car,” said Harvick, who gets his new chassis from Richard Childress Racing and his power from Earnhardt-Childress engines.

“RCR’s been a big part of this as well, with the engines, the chassis and the engineering. Everybody’s been working together. It’s easy when you get started in the right direction to keep it going that way.”

Keselowski likewise was pleased with his No. 22 Dodge team’s progress with the new car, which is being phased in this year—with plans for full-time use in 2011.

“I was just glad that we were able to work on the car and make it better,” Keselowski said. “That’s been one of our larger struggles all year with this particular chassis. So I’m glad that we were able to do that—just a real good show for the new car on the short tracks.

“I think that’s something to be proud of for the series. I think we can continue to work and make things better, but this was a great start.”

Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard, Kyle Busch and Edwards completed the top 10. A snafu in the pits cost Busch a chance for a record 11th win this season. Under caution on Lap 205, the quick-fill nozzle on one of Busch’s fuel cans broke off and remained attached to the car as Busch left pit road.

Penalized for taking equipment from the pits, Busch restarted 21st on Lap 211 and worked his way up to ninth before the race ended.

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1 99 Carl Edwards Kellogg’s/Cheez-It Ford
2 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
3 43 A J Allmendinger Insignia HDTV Ford
4 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet
5 00 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota
6 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota
7 98 Paul Menard Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Ford
8 12 Brad Keselowski No. 12 Penske Dodge Dodge
9 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet
10 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Ford
11 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet
12 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Ford
13 47 Marcos Ambrose Kingsford/Kroger Toyota
14 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota
15 14 Tony Stewart Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet
16 26 Jeff Green Air Guard Ford
17 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet
18 13 Casey Mears GEICO Toyota
19 5 Mark Martin GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
20 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet
21 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge
22 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont/National Guard Military Intelligence
23 39 Ryan Newman U.S. ARMY Chevrolet
24 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford
25 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet
26 6 David Ragan UPS Ford
27 36 Dave Blaney Mohawk Northeast Chevrolet
28 71 Landon Cassill Post 9/11 GI Bill Chevrolet
29 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Brakes Toyota
30 87 Joe Nemechek Washington Music Center Toyota
31 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota
32 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota
33 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge
34 1 Jamie McMurray Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet
35 32 Jason Leffler Braun Racing Toyota
36 19 Elliott Sadler Stanley Ford
37 55 Mike Bliss PRISM Motorsports Toyota
38 38 Travis Kvapil Long John Silver’s Ford
39 37 David Gilliland Charter Air Transport Ford
40 34 Tony Raines A&W Ford
41 7 Kevin Conway # Extenze Toyota
42 83 Mattias Ekstrom Red Bull Toyota
43 09 Bobby Labonte Phoenix Construction Chevrolet Chevrolet

Did Not Qualify: # 10 Terry Labonte; # 46 Michael McDowell; # 64 Todd Bodine; # 66 Scott Riggs; # 92 Brian Keselowski.

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Guest Column By Cathy Elliott

After many months of speculating, the 2010 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup has finally arrived, and it is time to choose which horse to back.

This is a no-brainer for fans of the 12 drivers in the Chase field, but those who find their favorites on the outside looking in have some serious grey-matter work to do. Do you pick another guy from “your” driver’s team to root for over the next 10 weeks? Do you settle on one of the frontrunners in hopes of winning the office pool, bragging rights, or both? Do you go with a guy piloting the product of a certain auto manufacturer?

LISTEN: The Final Lap chats with Richard Childress

This is indeed a quandary, but the answer may be “none of the above.” In fact, fans of every driver, whether they are in the Chase or not, may have our eyes, and especially our hearts, focused on no specific driver at all.

Instead, we may be watching the owner standings.

A phrase that has been used frequently this season is “the turnaround of Richard Childress Racing.” It is certainly safe to say that with three drivers in the Chase headed into Richmond — Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer — RCR represents the class of the field. The team is currently batting 100 percent. You can’t do much better than that.

Although admittedly these three have had solid seasons, the one driver name that will forever and always be linked with Richard Childress is that of Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Earnhardt and Childress had a bond that extended far beyond the boundaries of business; they were friends.

When Childress retired from racing to focus on ownership full-time, he chose Earnhardt as his replacement behind the wheel of the No. 3. Together, they won six Cup Series championships, in 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1994. There can be little argument that they are the most well-known owner/driver duo in NASCAR history.

Their partnership, of course, came to a tragic and untimely end with Earnhardt’s death in the 2001 Daytona 500.

Less than a week later, at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, N.C., Childress stood at the front of a tent situated just outside the grandstands and introduced Kevin Harvick as the new driver of Earnhardt’s legendary black Chevrolet, now renumbered as the 29.

Two weeks later, Harvick drove the car — a white one, now — to Victory Lane in Atlanta. We all remember that.

But there is a difference between the things we remember and the things we will never forget.

Indelibly stamped on the minds of those who were in Rockingham that day is the image of Childress standing in a stark, white tent, its sides flapping in the February wind as a cold rain fell outside, a tremor in his voice as he pledged that the black No. 3 GM Goodwrench Chevy would race no more.

Ever the professional, he was composed and dignified, but the overriding impression of the day was one of immense sadness, so different from the smiling man who, just a few years earlier, stood on a stage in New York City and hoisted a sixth championship trophy with his driver and friend.

Surrounded on all sides by a crush of people from every media outlet and NASCAR-associated entity imaginable, he seemed very alone.

These are the things we will never forget.

Richard Childress Racing has soldiered on. Some years have been better than others; RCR finished fourth in the owner standings in 2006 and 2008, but failed to place even one of its drivers in the Chase last year.

Is my driver of choice in this year’s Chase field? Yes, and I would be delighted to watch him lead those 12 roaring stock cars in a victory lap down the Las Vegas Strip during Champion’s Week, and to occupy the place of honor at the head table during NASCAR’s annual awards banquet. I know the same is true for all of you, and your personal favorites.

We would definitely remember that.

Is my favorite driver part of the RCR team? No. But Kevin Harvick is, and many pundits feel he will give reigning four-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson a real run for his money in this year’s Chase.

So there’s a really good chance that come December, we might see Richard Childress accept yet another owner’s title, and be able to celebrate a new champion right along with him while simultaneously honoring the memory of one who has gone before.

That would be truly unforgettable.

The opinions expressed in this articles are solely those of the author and not this website.

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1 33 Kevin Harvick Armour Vienna Sausage/Kroger Chevrolet
2 21 Clint Bowyer Zaxby’s Chevrolet
3 22 Brad Keselowski Ruby Tuesday Dodge
4 60 Carl Edwards Copart Ford
5 20 Denny Hamlin Z-Line Toyota
6 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Kimmy/Z-Line Designs Toyota
7 26 Parker Kligerman Dodge Dodge
8 99 Trevor Bayne Out! Pet Care Toyota
9 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips Toyota
10 98 Paul Menard Richmond/Menards Ford
11 49 Mark Green Sons of Anarchy FX Network Chevrolet
12 1 Ryan Newman Phoenix Construction Chevrolet
13 04 Jeremy Clements Boudreaux’s Butt Paste Chevrolet
14 12 Justin Allgaier Verizon Wireless Dodge
15 00 Ryan Truex NAPA Toyota
16 87 Joe Nemechek Gator.com Chevrolet
17 16 Erik Darnell 3M Ford
18 32 Reed Sorenson Dollar General Toyota
19 15 Michael Annett Germain.com Toyota
20 62 Brendan Gaughan Loan Max Toyota
21 7 Aric Almirola JR Motorsports Chevrolet
22 56 Kevin Lepage Hyatt Place Richmond Airport Toyota
23 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. # Citifinancial Ford
24 81 Michael McDowell Red Line Oil Dodge
25 66 Steve Wallace 5-hour Energy Toyota
26 34 Tony Raines Long John Silver’s Chevrolet
27 10 Tayler Malsam Iron Horse Jeans Toyota
28 40 Mike Bliss Key Motorsports Chevrolet
29 70 Shelby Howard InternationalTrucks.com Chevrolet
30 25 Kelly Bires Raybestos Ford
31 88 Elliott Sadler GT Vodka Chevrolet
32 09 Landon Cassill Zaxby’s Ford
33 89 Morgan Shepherd Victory in Jesus Chevrolet
34 24 Eric McClure Kroger Ford
35 28 Kenny Wallace Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet
36 35 Jason Keller TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet
37 23 Coleman Pressley R3 Motorsports Chevrolet
38 01 Mike Wallace JD Motorsports Chevrolet
39 27 Hermie Sadler III Virginia Commonwealth University Ford
40 11 Brian Scott # BigSpot.com Toyota
41 68 Carl Long Millennium Fuel Energy Drink Chevrolet
42 05 Willie Allen Cash America Chevrolet
43 73 Derrike Cope Charter Communications Dodge