What a night in Richmond. NASCAR’s final stop of 2011 in the Capitol City of Virginia had excitement, drama and lots of action. Harvick kept his cool and visited Victory Lane while Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch went for another round. If Saturday night was any indication of what we can expect in the Chase we could be in for the best one yet.

VICTORY LANE
Kevin Harvick – Fourth win of the season and is atop of the Chase Standings.
Kyle Busch – Sits atop the Chase Standings with Kevin Harvick and now is 10 consistent races for his chance at a championship
Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Making the Chase after failing to do so.

THE GARAGE
Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, and Jeff Burton – Three drivers that failed to make the Chase but did not this year.

Power Rankings
(Rankings will be based off of who is running the best, with an emphasis on the last several races but having respect for the duration of the 36 race schedule. Last Week’s Rankings can be found in parenthesis.)
1. (1) Jeff Gordon – Makes the Chase and is sitting three points back.
2. (3) Kyle Busch – Leads the points with Kevin Harvick.
3. (4) Brad Keselowski – First Wild Card recipient, if next races are just like the last five races he will be second, 11 behind Jeff Gordon.
4.  (2) Jimmie Johnson – Will be in pursuit of his sixth consecutive championship.
5.  (6) Ryan Newman – Starts the Chase tied for fifth and is nine back.
6.  (5) Matt Kenseth – The reason the Chase was created, now needs to get in victory lane to claim a second Cup Championship.
7. (8) Carl Edwards – Starts in fifth but has finished with 43 and 40 points the last two races to show that he is running good.
8.  (7) Kevin Harvick – Gets his fourth win of the season at Richmond to set him atop the point’s standings.
9.  (9) Tony Stewart – Makes the Chase but has not won a race this year, will need to improve cars to have a shot at the title.
10. (12) AJ Allmendinger – Is now 13th in points with a 12 point lead.
11.  (11) Kurt Busch –Makes the Chase and is tied for the fifth spot but has scored a total of 122 points the last five weeks which is lower than 19 other drivers.
12. (10) Martin Truex Jr. – Has been better than most in the last five weeks that is why he is here.

Driver of Week: Kevin Harvick – Needed some momentum and gained it with his Victory in Richmond.

Stat of the Week: Nine Top 10’s- Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Top 10’s on the season.

Last Week’s Prediction Results: Kyle Busch –Finishes sixth but does not lead a lap

This Week’s Prediction for Chicagoland: Matt Kenseth

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