We're pleased to have Track President Dennis Bickmeier contribute our first guest blog post
The Chase Grid. It’s more than just the final field for drivers who have a shot for NASCAR’s coveted title. It represents success, that your driver has raced their way into Victory Lane during NASCAR’s grueling regular season, or has raced well enough to remain among the point leaders after that season comes to a close in Richmond.

It also represents a chance, and that Road to Richmond is filled with those chances. Every race represents an opportunity for a driver to race their way onto the Chase Grid and secure their place in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Sure the likes of McMurray, Menard, Newman, Gordon and Bowyer are in for now, but those on the outside looking in can score a win in two weeks at Darlington or in the Last Race to Make the Chase at RIR on September 12. Not even Jeff Gordon is safe yet – no doubt he’ll be fighting harder than anyone to prolong his final NASCAR season.

Ever since The Chase was born in 2004, our September event has been “The Last Race to Make the Chase.” But when the Chase Grid was born last year and winning meant everything, what did it mean for Richmond International Raceway?

Everything. It means everything. It all comes down to Richmond.

When the checkered flag falls for the Federated Auto Parts 400, 16 drivers will officially have their name on the official Chase Grid. As it stands today, five spots are still up in the air. There will be a lot of drama over the next few weeks as the on track action heats up and the pressure to win becomes even fiercer.

It all culminates in Richmond, the cut-off race before NASCAR’s 10-race playoff kicks off in Chicagoland. Who’s in and who’s out, you’ll want to join us in Richmond to find out.


And when the field is set, join us on the track for our Post Race Party and celebrate the 16 drivers who qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship. It’s a unique opportunity in our sport, unlike the ‘stick and ball sports.’ All the competitors with a chance to compete for the Sprint Cup championship in the same place at the same time. It’s a celebration of their accomplishments over the first 26 races and an opportunity to blow off some steam and then get ready for the Chase, and our Post Race Party is we put you right into the action.

Everyone with a ticket to the race can come down on the track after the race to celebrate with the drivers.

- Dennis Bickmeier
President, Richmond International Raceway
5:13 PM
Kyle Busch will certainly be looking to add to his record 15 Bristol wins this weekend. 
After his injury caused him to miss out on both Bristol and Richmond’s spring races, you can be sure Kyle is itching to get back on a short track this weekend. Back in 2007-2012, you could have called Kyle the reigning King of Short Track Racing. He collected nine wins between RIR and BMS in those six years, including an NSCS sweep at Bristol in 2009 - and his 15 overall wins in Thunder Valley are more than any other driver in the track's history. However, the best he has done since then was a P2 finish at Bristol in the spring of 2013 – his last Top Ten finish at that track.

Don’t let Rowdy sneak up on you on Saturday night, though - It’s clear his standout summer gives his team tons of momentum heading into the weekend. Smart money says this former King is most definitely looking to reclaim his crown and firmly cement himself inside the top 30 in points.


1:25 PM



Check out some of the sights from Kurt Busch's stop in Richmond yesterday, where he splashed around on the historic James River and zip lined across Richmond's Bell Isle with kids from the Passages Rock and River camp!
11:36 AM

No one is more aware of the Road to Richmond’s stop in Bristol this weekend than Kasey Kahne. But after two consecutive finishes off the lead lap in Bristol, he needs the half-miler to cooperate on Saturday night. With four straight Top 10 finishes from 2012-2014, this is probably his best bet to snag his first win of the season and lock in a fourth straight Chase appearance. Fan girls (and maybe a few guys) are praying to see a flash of “Kase-Lightning” in Thunder Valley this weekend.

Recent history hasn’t been kind to Kasey at RIR. His only win at the track came back in 2005, which was his very first Sprint Cup Series win. But since Kasey joined Team Hendrick, he has found himself finishing in the Top 10 only twice. On the bright side, one of those Top 10s was this past April at the TOYOTA OWNERS 400. A solid warm-up at Bristol might just be what this driver needs to recapture glory in Richmond.

Darlington is a wild card for Kasey. Despite four poles there, his most at any track on the circuit, he’s without a win there in 12 races. If he can throw it back at Darlington all the way to his first CWTS win in 2004, he might stand a chance. Luck needs to be a “Lady in Black” if Kasey hopes to continue his season.

A few other names to keep in mind as the season makes it's way to Bristol this weekend.

8:55 AM

With a Richmond win already on his 2015 resume, Kurt Busch tried to sneak in a a second checkered flag  before the rest of the NASCAR field returns in September. That was, until a couple of kids had something to say about it.

“Man they ambushed me!” said Busch. “It was a fun event, I thought, then it turns into a full-on race and they staged it to where they surrounded me and I couldn’t even get my paddle going.”

No it wasn’t a paddle-powered stock car. Kurt and the kids were out kayaking on the historic James River in advance of RIR’s upcoming race weekend September 10-12.

“It was a perfect ambush,” he chuckled. “They’re like ‘Yeah our plan worked,’ and I’m here thinking 'What plan!'”


Busch and Richmond International Raceway came out to the Passages Rock and River camp on the James, where the defending TOYOTA OWNERS 400 champ made the rounds across Richmond’s famous Belle Isle. In addition to splashing around in a kayak, Busch took to the air with some zip line action across the island's quarry.


“I'd been coming to Richmond for 15 years, and I haven't been able to do something like (kayaking or zip-lining) here,” said Busch. "It's fun to jump in and do some outdoorsy things like that,"

And as much fun as the No. 41 driver had on the river, Kurt is looking forward to coming back to RIR in September for the Last Race to Make the Chase, the 2015 Federated Auto Parts 400.

“There’s some of those races that slip through your fingers and you want them back. Richmond’s done that to me over the years,” said Busch. “I always get excited about coming here, going for that win. It’s a perfect type of cut-off scenario, whether you’re in or you’re out Richmond’s the short track where you gotta let it all hang out.”

5:56 PM
Here's a look at how things stand with just three races left until the 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup.


Matt Kenseth’s Michigan victory bumped him up with one more win over Kevin Harvick. Jeff Gordon fell behind Ryan Newman after his lackluster 17th place finish. Clint Bowyer’s day ended with a disappointing wreck on lap 125, but he remains on The Chase bubble, for now.
1:06 PM

Brad Keselowski has racked up 17 wins at 12 different tracks in his NASCAR Sprint Cup career, but a victory at his hometown track has always alluded the Rochester Hills native.

But after stringing together three consecutive Top 10's, including a sixth place showing in the Irish Hills back in June, things might be coming together for Keselowski as he prepares for the Pure Michigan 400 this weekend.

With his lone win on the season coming back in March at Fontana, an inaugural trip to his hometown Victory Lane could give the Penske driver some needed momentum heading into the 2015 Chase.
1:05 PM
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