Viewer's Guide: Richmond

Despite being winless so far in 2005, life is pretty good these days for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

He finished eighth at Darlington last week, and Saturday he heads to Richmond as the defending winner of the prime-time Chevy American Revolution 400 on FX.

	Inside the Numbers Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Richmond Year Start Finish 1999 21 10 2000 5 1   31 13 2001 14 7   8 3 2002 2 36   24 4 2003 3 3   13 17 2004 4 1   14 2 Average 12.6 8.8

To say he's garnering more attention since his team's turnaround is an understatement.

"We're working real hard trying to get the finishes we know we can get at the tracks we feel confident at," Junior said "I'm looking forward to the race this week at Richmond and the next couple of races after that. Should be exciting."

He said his love for Richmond International Raceway started long before he won last year's race, his second victory at the .750-mile track.

"It was one of the first places I went to as a kid to watch my dad race," he said. "It was a really neat place before it was reconfigured, but it's just as cool now.

"They did a great job paving the track last year. We were able to run side by side without any problems. I really like the line you run there to be competitive, because it really suits my style."

The news was mixed for FOX last week at Darlington. The Dodge Charger 500 earned a 4.7 overnight rating and a 9 market share from Nielsen Media Research. That's down almost 10 percent from last year's spring race at Darlington, which was held on Sunday afternoon.

The rating is a tick higher than the 4.5 overnight rating that the Saturday night Phoenix Cup race got a couple weeks back.

However, track officials released figures from FOX on Wednesday showing the race with a 5.6 rating and an 11 share. That would make it the highest-rated prime-time NASCAR event in the network's history.

The race had an average viewership of 9.3 million, up about 10 percent from FOX's other prime-time TV race this season. The race's 11 share dwarfed programming of the other networks. CBS and ABC had shares of 4.7, and NBC a 4.5.

A rating point represents 1,096,000 homes. A share is the percentage of the households watching television at any given time.

Dave Blaney, David Stremme and Robby Gordon are among the guests scheduled for Trackside this week at Darlington (11 p.m. ET Friday). If you're heading there this weekend, the SPEED Stage truck will be located outside the track behind the main grandstand. The show will be taped at 2:30 p.m.

There are some changes on tap for SPEED in the near future. Krista Voda is leaving the network next month to move to Pittsburgh to go to work for Fox Sports Net. Shortly after that, on June 27, NASCAR Nation will switch to a 30-minute, non-news format. The idea here is to make the show more feature-based, which was the original intention.

Chris Long, the new V.P. of studio production for SPEED, says host Ralph Sheehen will be returned to Speed News and that the search is on for new hosts. The show's graphics and set will also change.

"This show is trying to throw out a bigger net, not just catching the interest of NASCAR fans, but to the larger television audience that just might be curious about the lives race car drivers live away from the track or those who simply enjoy the world of entertainment," said Long.

Other changes on tap include:

• Beyond the Wheel, a popular feature within Nation, will become its own program.

• Inside Nextel Cup will return to its original, 60-minute time period.

"I want that show to be all about letting the viewer feel what it was like to have been in that week's race -- like a driver or crew chief is sitting right there with them explaining all of the decisions made during the heat of battle," Long said. "We will utilize our access to in-car communication much more and I think it is fair to say you will see some talent adjustments there as well."

'NASCAR on FOX' producer Neil Goldberg

Who decides when races start? NASCAR on FOX producer Neil Goldberg tackles that question in this week's edition of "Ask the Producer."

"When the new schedule comes out, NASCAR and the TV networks work together on the hour of the day the race will come on the air. Once the TV schedule is set the networks put in their request for Green Flag times.

"As the new season approaches there can be slight adjustments in the Green Flag time in accordance to TV's needs. That adjustment never swings more than 10 minutes. These changes are made well in advance of the races."

In this week's version of "The Rant," Dave Zach wonders why viewers need to see so many caution laps and yet so many commercials.

"Almost every race has multiple cautions. The networks could do a better job of using those cautions to air commercials. Watching race cars ride around at 55 mph nose to tail is not all that thrilling, so use the time wisely for the sponsors.

"One more thing please! When you finally do come back from commercials, let's get back to the race without cluttering the screen with additional promotional schedules and other "who cares blah blah" And if it has to be, then at least split the screen so we can see the race back in action.

"I really believe it can be made better for the fans, and still get it done for the sponsors."

I can't disagree, Dave. But as far as the caution laps are concerned, it would figure that if you cut out too much of that, you may miss crucial pit stops.

Now to this weekend's schedule:

Chevy Revolution 400Earnhardt Jr. captures his third win of the season Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Nextel Cup Series: Chevy American Revolution 400
Track: Richmond International Raceway
Race length: 400 laps/300 miles
• .75-mile oval
• 14-degree banking in turns
• 8-degree banking on frontstretch
• 2-degree banking on backstretch
• Length of frontstretch: 1,290 feet
• Length of backstretch: 860 feet

TV Schedule (All times ET)
• Nextel Cup practice: noon Fri., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: 4 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Bud Pole Qualifying: 6 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Trackside: 11 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• NASCAR Live: noon Sat., SPEED
• NASCAR Performance: 4 p.m. Sat., SPEED
• NASCAR This Morning: 5:30 p.m. Sat., SPEED
• Pre-race: 7 p.m. Sat., FX
• Race: 7:35 p.m. Sat., FX

One year ago, gambling that he could win on tires and fuel with 54 laps to go, Dale Earnhardt Jr. made it happen, outrunning Jimmie Johnson and Bobby Labonte over the last 45 laps for his third victory of the season.

The most recent checkered flag went to Greg Biffle, who led the most laps Saturday, but had to pass Ryan Newman on a green-white-checkered restart to win the Dodge Charger 500 at Darlington.

Keep an eye on Jeremy Mayfield. He won the most recent Nextel Cup race at Richmond last September to earn a spot in last year's Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Funai 250Kyle Busch becomes the first rookie to win in the last two years Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Busch Series: Funai 250
Track: Richmond International Raceway
Race length: 250 laps/187.5 miles
• .75-mile oval
• 14-degree banking in turns
• 8-degree banking on frontstretch
• 2-degree banking on backstretch
• Length of frontstretch: 1,290 feet
• Length of backstretch: 860 feet

TV Schedule (All times ET)
• Busch Pole Qualifying: 4:30 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Pre-race: 7:30 p.m. Sat., FX
• Race: 8:05 p.m. Sat., FX

One year ago, Kyle Busch started first and stayed there almost all the way, leading 236 laps and earning his first career victory.

The most recent checkered flag went to Matt Kenseth, who started in the middle of the pack in Friday's Diamond Hill Plywood 200. Once the green flag fell, he charged through the field to get his second Darlington win.

Keep an eye on Denny Hamiln. Richmond is his home track and he's been making a steady climb up the ladder toward his first win.

Ohio 250Jack Sprague scores the 24th victory of his NCTS career Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Craftsman Truck Series: Ohio 250
Track: Mansfield Motorsports Speedway
Race length: 250 laps/125 miles
• .5-mile oval
• 12, 14 amd 16-degree banking in turns
• 8-degree banking on straights
• Length of frontstretch: 545 feet
• Length of backstretch: 545 feet

TV Schedule (All times ET)
• Race: 2 p.m. Sun., SPEED

One year ago, three-time Craftsman Truck Series champion Jack Sprague won for the 24th time with a dominating performance in the inaugural UAW/GM Ohio 250.

The most recent checkered flag went to Ted Musgrave, who led all but two laps in winning the Dodge Ram Tough 200 at Gateway two weeks ago.

Keep an eye on Dennis Setzer. His average finish on short tracks is 7.2, but Setzer hasn't won in the past nine short-track races on the series schedule.

Mark Spoor is an interactive producer for NASCAR.COM.
The Domino's Viewer's Guide runs each Thursday during race weeks.