Chase at hand, drivers scramble
Harvick, Gordon also worth watching
The arrival of the Chase for the Sprint Cup format virtually guaranteed an added layer of drama for the final race of the regular season, and Richmond International Raceway again will be the stage as drivers seek entry into NASCAR’s playoffs.
While Ryan Newman’s chances of making the 16-driver grid took a hit with Wednesday’s penalty, he remains in the hunt for one of three remaining spots on points. There always is the chance of a first-time winner nabbing an automatic berth and shaking up the final slots.
Three other story lines to watch in Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network):
Harvick’s the pits: Although he leads the standings and is a Chase lock with two victories, Kevin Harvick is something less than a happy camper.
Slow pit stops robbed Harvick of a solid chance to win Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, and he boiled over after the race, dropping heavy criticism on his pit crew.
“I’m over being a cheerleader,” Harvick said. “Those guys get paid a lot of money to perform on pit road. Cheerleading hasn’t been working. You have to get after it on pit road and do your job.
“We continue to give it away on pit road. We had a dominant car — just three bad pit stops on pit road. We have championship cars. We’re just mediocre on pit road. It’s kind of been that way for a few years. … We have a couple of good weeks here and there, but they just can’t put together a whole day on pit road right now.”
In the past, public complaints by Harvick have led to change. With the start of the Chase only a week away, his pit crew could see new faces.
In 2014, he expressed similar concerns. Stewart-Haas Racing swapped his pit crew with that of teammate Tony Stewart. Harvick went on to win his first Cup title. Gordon buckles up again: Jeff Gordon will drive for Dale Earnhardt Jr. again this weekend in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet.
Gordon has two wins at Richmond and owns the track qualifying record of 130.599 mph, set in September 2013.
In 46 career races at the track, Gordon has finished in the top 10 30 times.
As Earnhardt sits out the remainder of the season while continuing to recover from a concussion, Gordon is scheduled to drive again at Dover International Speedway and Martinsville Speedway. Alex Bowman will drive the other eight races.
Kickoff vs. green flag: Saturday night will present an unusual scenario for NASCAR. Its Sprint Cup race will compete for television viewers with a college football game being played at a NASCAR speedway.
Bristol Motor Speedway is scheduled to host Saturday night’s Tennessee-Virginia Tech game (8 p.m. ET, ABC).
The heavily publicized Bristol game is expected to attract the biggest crowd — possibly more than 150,000 — in college football history.