Background
• This is the 10th race of 36 for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2008.
• This is the third of six short-track races this season.
• This is the 103rd time the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has competed at Richmond International Raceway since 1953.
• Richmond is a .75-mile oval and with 14-degree banking in the turns, eight-degree banking on the frontstretch and two-degree banking on the backstretch.
• 46 drivers are on the pre-entry list to compete for one of the 43 starting slots in Saturday's 400-lap, 300-mile race. Of those 46 entrants, 11 must get into Saturday's field based on qualifying times. They are: J.J. Yeley, Patrick Carpentier, Dave Blaney, Kyle Petty, Scott Wimmer, Johnny Sauter, John Andretti, A.J. Allmendinger, and Joe Nemechek. (NOTE: As of this writing, drivers for the No. 40 and the No. 21 had not been announced. Both would have to make the race based on qualifying time, unless Bill Elliott is named as a driver, and he would have a past champion provisional at his disposal.)
• The drivers who are on the bubble for the top-35 in owners' points are:
(31) Michael Waltrip/Waltrip Racing 708, +110
(32) Reed Sorenson/Ganassi Racing 678, +80
(33) David Reutimann/Waltrip Racing 670, +72
(34) Sam Hornish/Penske Racing 663, +65
(35) Regan Smith/Dale Earnhardt Inc 659, 61 points ahead of 36th
These teams/ drivers must qualify by speed:
(36) Dario Franchitti/Ganassi Racing 598, 61 points out of 35th
(37) Johnny Sauter/Haas CNC Racing 584, -75
(38) J.J. Yeley/Hall of Fame Racing 579, -80
(39) Dave Blaney/Bill Davis 577, -82
(40) A.J. Allmendinger/Red Bull Racing 521, -138
• The go-or-go-home drivers who would miss the show if qualifying were canceled are Joe Nemechek, Scott Wimmer and John Andretti.
• Johnny Sauter is driving the No. 70 car again this weekend. No full-time driver has been named for this car since Jeremy Mayfield was released prior to Phoenix.
• Scott Wimmer is driving a fourth Richard Childress Racing car this weekend.
• Mark Martin will be back in the No. 8 DEI Chevrolet this weekend at Richmond.
• Jimmie Johnson swept both Richmond races in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition last year. Before those two wins, Johnson had only one top-10 in 10 starts here. Prior to those wins, Hendrick Motorsports had not won a Cup Series race here since Joe Nemechek in this race three years ago.
• This weekend represents the two-year anniversary of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s last win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. For Dale Jr., Richmond and Bristol are tied as the tracks where he has the best average finish. He has 17 starts at both, with average finishes of 11.3. Of drivers with ten or more starts here, Earnhardt is tied with Tony Stewart at second with the best average finish of all active drivers who have had at least 10 starts at Richmond.
• Speaking of Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr., they lead all active drivers with wins here at three apiece. Stewart has one more start (18) than Junior, but Earnhardt has a slightly better average starting position (15.6 to Stewart's 16.2). Stewart, though, has more than double the amount of laps led here with 792 to Earnhardt's 322.
• Jeff Gordon has two wins here, the last one coming in 2000, and leads all active drivers in laps led with 1,059. Gordon is also the best starter of all active drivers with 10 or more starts here (7.1).
• Two go-or-go-homers have Cup Series wins here: Joe Nemechek and Kyle Petty.
• Kyle Busch has been unstoppable this year and the most recent Cup Series winner is good at RIR, too. In six starts, he has five top-5s, has always finished on the lead lap and has an average finish of 6.2.
• Of the go-or-go-home drivers with 10 or more starts here, Kyle Petty has the best average finish at 19.6. Within that group, he also has the best starting position (19.9).
• Robby Gordon, despite having a NASCAR Nationwide Series win here, has the worst average finish of all the drivers with 10 starts or more here who are guaranteed entry into Saturday night's race (30.1). He also has the worst starting position of the drivers in that group (28.6).
Richmond previous winners
There are THIRTEEN previous Richmond winners entered this weekend, with 19 victories among them:
Past four races at Richmond International Raceway
2008 Sprint Cup Series top-10 recap
Jeff Burton (1347) was the 12th-place finisher at Talladega on Sunday and remains first in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings. Burton has 27 starts at Richmond with 12 top-10s, seven top-5s, a win and an average finish of 15.5.
Kyle Busch (-22) was the winning driver at Talladega and continues his hold on second in the Cup Series standings. In six starts at Richmond, Busch has five top-5s and an average finish of 6.2.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (-79) finished 10th at Talladega and remains third in the Cup Series points. Earnhardt has 17 starts at Richmond with nine top-10s, seven top-5s, three wins and an average finish of 11.3.
Denny Hamlin (-99) was the third-place finisher at Talladega and moves up two spots in the Cup Series standings to fourth. In four starts at Richmond, Hamlin has three top-10s and two top-5s with an average finish of 6.5.
Jimmie Johnson (-102) was the 13th-place finisher at Talladega and falls one spot to fifth in the Cup Series standings. Johnson has 12 starts at Richmond with three top-5s, two wins, and an average finish of 17.8.
Kevin Harvick (-139) finished 24th Sunday at Talladega and falls one spot in the Cup Series points standings to sixth. Harvick has 14 starts at Richmond with eight top-10s, four top-5s, a win and an average finish of 12.1.
Clint Bowyer (-165) finished the race at Talladega in ninth, moving up one place in the Cup Series points standings to seventh. Bowyer has four starts at RIR with two top-10s and an average finish of 10.8.
Greg Biffle (-199) finished 18th at Talladega and moves up two spots to eighth in the Cup Series standings. In 11 starts at Richmond, Biffle has five top-10s, two top-5s and an average finish of 16.0.
Tony Stewart (-210) was the 38th-place finisher at Talladega and falls two spots in the Cup Series standings to ninth. Stewart has 18 starts at RIR with 12 top-10s, six top-5s, three wins and an average finish of 11.3.
Carl Edwards (-263) finished 40th at Talladega and falls one place to 10th in the Cup Series standings. Edwards has seven starts at Richmond with two top-10s and an average finish of 20.6.
Mark Garrow covers fantasy racing for ESPN.com.