Viewer's Guide: RIR

Sure, Carl Edwards didn't make the Chase for the Nextel Cup this season. Still, that doesn't mean Edwards won't be busy through the Chase.

Edwards debuts Thursday night as co-host of the SPEED show The Chase is On (8 p.m. ET), a look at the weekly races that make up the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

	Inside the Numbers Carl Edwards in the 2005 Chase Race Start Finish Loudon 24 19 Dover 32 9 Talladega 10 5 Kansas 5 3 Charlotte 8 10 Martinsville 18 26 Atlanta 2 1 Texas 30 1 Phoenix 3 6 Homestead 1 4

Including Saturday night's Chevy Rock and Roll 400 (7 p.m. ET, TNT), where the Chase field will be finalized. Edwards said he knows plenty about what Saturday's race will be like.

"For me last year, Richmond was extremely intense," Edwards said. "You don't have another race next week to make up for any mistakes, so the guys on the bubble are feeling a lot of anxiety. They want this week over with ... good or bad."

While Edwards is happy to have the opportunity SPEED has given him, all things being equal, Edwards says he'd rather be in the thick of the battle.

"There won't be a single one of these shows that won't be painful for me," Edwards added. "I want, more than anything, to be in the Chase and racing for a championship, but maybe this show will be good therapy. It might give me a different perspective on points racing ... I might even learn something."

Steve Byrnes, who will host the show with Edwards, said he was critical of the Chase when it was first announced, but now believes NASCAR is much better off after the playoff system was announced.

"After 20 years of watching teams and drivers get into position to win a championship, I can honestly say that this system really has invigorated the sport," Byrnes said. "If your favorite driver is in the top 10, he has a chance to win the championship ... it's like a wild-card team getting hot in football or baseball. It keeps a lot more fans interested through the end of the season."

Several fans have written in wanting a longer post-race show. Saturday, if for just one evening, they'll get their wish.

After Saturday's race at Richmond, the TNT crew will offer a special Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship Preview Show. Much like the evening's pre-race show, you can expect plenty of interviews with the 10 drivers who'll battle for the Nextel Cup -- and the one driver left on the outside looking in.

Speaking of the pre-race show, Ed Robertson, the lead singer of rock band Barenaked Ladies, will be Wally Dallenbach's guest in Wally's World.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Robby Gordon and Shane Huffman are the scheduled guests for Friday's Trackside from Richmond (10 p.m. ET, SPEED). If you're going to Richmond, the show will be taped at 1:30 p.m. local time at the SPEED stage near the amphitheater.

	MESSAGE BOARD •   Send your question to Benny and Wally

In this week's edition of "Ask Wally and Benny", Dan DeMarchis in Fredericksburg, Va., wants to know the benefits of a wing vs. a spoiler on the Car of Tomorrow.

Wally Dallenbach offers up:

"I really don't know why they're going with the rear wing," he said. "I mean I understand why they are changing the car to make racing better, but I don't know where the rear wing comes into play. All I see are problems when it comes to a rear wing.

"These days, when you knock into the wall or you do a little damage, you just take a hammer to the spoiler and knock it back into place.

"I don't know what's going to happen when you hit the wall now and the wing falls off. That's not going to be a quick and easy fix for the guys to get back into the race. I don't understand where they're going with this. The success of that modification remains to be seen."

Now on to this weekend's schedule.

Nextel Cup Series: Chevy Rock and Roll 400

Track: Richmond International Raceway

• .75-mile oval
• 14-degree banking in corners
• 8-degree banking on frontstretch
• 2-degree banking on backstretch
• Frontstretch: 1,290 feet
• Backstretch: 860 feet

Race length: 400 laps/300 miles

TV schedule (All times ET)

2005 FlashbackSee Kurt Busch grab the checkers at Richmond Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

• NASCAR Live: 2 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Practice: 2:30 p.m. Fri. (tape), SPEED
• Bud Pole Qualifying: 6 p.m. Fri., TNT
• Trackside: 10 p.m. Fri, SPEED
• NASCAR Live: Noon Sat., SPEED
• NASCAR Raceday: 5 p.m. Sat., SPEED
• Pre-race: 7 p.m. Sat., TNT
• Race: 7:50 p.m. Sat., TNT

One year ago, Kurt Busch won the Chevy Rock and Roll 400, ending a dominating regular season for Roush Racing. The Roushkateers put all five of their drivers in NASCAR's postseason party.

The most recent checkered flag went to Kasey Kahne, who kept his Chase hopes alive on Sunday, winning the Sony HD 500 to complete a weekend sweep at California Speedway.

Keep an eye on the drivers currently between sixth and 11th in the Nextel Cup standings. Just 77 points separate sixth-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. and 11th-place Kasey Kahne. By the end of Saturday's race, one of those 11 drivers will be on the outside looking in.

Busch Series: Emerson Radio 250

Track: Richmond International Raceway

• .75-mile oval
• 14-degree banking in corners
• 8-degree banking on frontstretch
• 2-degree banking on backstretch
• Frontstretch: 1,290 feet
• Backstretch: 860 feet

Race length: 250 laps/188 miles

2005 FlashbackWatch Harvick win in a green-white-checker finish Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

TV schedule (All times ET)

• Qualifying: 4:30 p.m. Fri., SPEED
• Race: 7:30 p.m. Fri., TNT

One year ago, Kevin Harvick got the better of the field in a green-white-checkered finish at Richmond.

The most recent checkered flag went to Kahne, who had enough fuel to carry out his plan and win the Ameriquest 300 on Saturday night at California Speedway.

Keep an eye on David Gilliland. Robert Yates Racing announced that David Gilliland will replace Stephen Leicht in the No. 90 Ford for this Friday's race. Leicht is expected to return at Dover.