Keselowski Wins Richmond, Field of 16 Drivers Set to Chase Championship

The 16 drivers who will race for the 2014 Sprint Cup Championship
 Top (L-R): Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman,
Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Aric Almirola
Bottom (L-R): Brad Keselowski, Greg Biffle, AJ ALlmendinger, Kasey Kahne,
Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kevin Harvick (Photo from Google Images)

After 25 grueling races, it all came down to Richmond and the regular season finale to see who would capture the final few spots in the top 16 in points and qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Just like he had done three previous times in 2014, Brad Keselowski qualified his Miller Lite Ford on the pole. Greg Biffle and Ryan Newman were trying to maintain the final two spots in the Chase, while Clint Bowyer was faced with a "win-and-you're-in" scenario that would bump out either of the Biffle-Newman duo. With some drivers racing for the win, others racing for pride, and still others racing for their shot at a title, the Federated Auto Parts 400 got underway.

Keselowski put on a clinic at the three-quarter mile Virginia short track, leading a staggering 383 of the 400 laps run Saturday night, with Kevin Harvick leading the other 17 circuits in his Budweiser Chevrolet. For a race that would set the championship field, not to mention racing at a short track where tempers usually flare up quickly, the race was very tame. The only real on-track slip up came when Matt Kenseth slid his Dollar General Toyota into the outside wall. The resulting damage would  ruin his night and relegated driver No. 20 to a 41st place finish. But while the racing on the track was calm, there was an incident off the track that got everyone's attention.

James Richard Dennis sits atop the catch fence in turn four at
 Richmond International Raceway (Photo from Google Images)

Nascar fans tend to have a reputation as drunken lunatics and that stereotype was not really helped on Saturday when a fan decided to climb the retaining fence (normally meant to protect spectators from the potential of flying debris) and sit atop it for several laps. James Richard Dennis, 53, sat atop the fence, arms raised, cheering to his fellow fans. Shortly after, Nascar placed the race under caution to slow the cars down and bring the fan down from the fence. Dennis was then arrested, charged with disorderly conduct and public drunkenness and escorted off the premises.

But when the fans settled down and the smoke had cleared, it was Keselowski who grabbed his fourth win of the season and the number one seed in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Jeff Gordon finished a strong second place and Bowyer finished third. But despite his top three finish, Bowyer missed  qualifying for the Chase by a scant seven points to Biffle. That equates to seven finishing positions during any of the previous 25 races, which really illustrates just how close making the cut to run for the championship playoff can be. There was also a scary moment after the checkered flag fell.

Title contender and defending six-time champion Jimmie Johnson finished a strong eighth in the race. But when he exited his car on pit road afterwards, he sat on the wall surrounded by his crew. He then sat on the ground, rolled over to lay on his back. Track medical personnel placed Johnson on a stretcher and rushed him to the infield care center where he was later diagnosed as being severely dehydrated and received an IV to help return him to normal. This was very odd, as Johnson is a big advocate of physical fitness and often competes in triathlons. Johnson is fine and will compete in Chicago this weekend.

Brad Keselowski celebrates his Richmond win
(Photo from Google Images)

So the field of 16 title contenders is set and the Chase for the Sprint Cup is set to begin this Sunday afternoon at Chicagoland Speedway. Keselowski is the number one seed going into the race, followed by Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Johnson and Joey Logano round out the top five, followed by Harvick, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch. The eleventh spot is held down by Kasey Kahne, Aric Amirola is twelfth and AJ Allmendinger is thirteenth. Matt Kenseth is fourteenth, and is the first of the drivers to lock into the Chase on points because they failed to win a race. He is followed by Biffle in fifteenth and Newman in sixteenth.

This 16 driver playoff is part of a new Nascar initiative to place more of a premium on winning races. Not only did winning a race in the first 25 events lock a driver into the Chase, the field was also set by who had the most victories (which is why Keselowski is the top seed with four wins). However, in the final ten race playoff, every three races, four drivers will be eliminated from title contention. The only way to avoid being knocked out is to win a race or run at a competitive level every week. This new system also results in a winner-take-all finale between the top four drivers in points going into the tenth race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway and the highest finishing driver from those four will be crowned the 2014 Sprint Cup Series Champion.

While it has been heavily criticize by some and hard to understand at times, this new system should be good for the sport. It will force every driver to race hard if they want to be champion and really help the cream rise to the top. This should be a very exciting stretch for drivers and fans alike and I'm looking forward to posting for you every step of the way. Lets go racing!