Last of the bonus points, seeds on line at Richmond (cont'd)

"I'm just glad we've already clinched a spot and don't have to worry about racing our way in this weekend," Gordon said.

"I think our points lead is a credit to how this team has performed this year. But we know it's a whole new season once those final 10 races begin. Any one of the 12 drivers can win the championship, which is why the Chase is so exciting."

With the Chase field virtually set, the racing at Richmond could be a little better than what we have seen in the past two September events.

"I think this could be a race where guys are really fighting hard to get those bonus points and get positioned a little bit better for the Chase," Gordon added. "It could be just as exciting as guys trying to make it in the Chase."

Hopefully even more. Imagine if there was a 100-point bonus attached to the win in the last race before the Chase?

Johnson comes in off the win at California. The 48 team has been riding the racing roller-coaster again this summer, but celebrated Labor Day weekend with a trip back to Victory Lane. Johnson said he knew it was coming.

"We've been close; we've been running good. I think of Dover, I think of somewhere else in there, Chicago, where we were running really good and up front and had problems. So we have been close," Johnson said.

"It's nice to get the job done and historically we get off to a great start, have a slow summer and finish up strong and it looks like for whatever reason, our cycle is coming back. It's just kind of what happens for us and I don't really know why but I'm glad we are back in Victory Lane."

Johnson has raced at Richmond 11 times. He won at Richmond in May, and finished second in the spring of 2004. Those are his only two top-10 finishes in his 11 starts there. But his crew chief isn't worried.

"We are really excited about going back to Richmond," Chad Knaus said. "We are taking the same car that we had in the spring at Richmond.

"We were in Milwaukee last week testing it. For Loudon, we have a brand new Impala SS that we are going to take there that we are really excited about."

Already looking down the road.

Gordon and his guys will be ready at Loudon, too. But first, there is Saturday night. His fourth-place finish in May was his first top-10 in his past five Richmond races. He is a two-time winner there.

"I love Richmond," Gordon said. "It's a great track, but it wasn't much fun for us the past couple of seasons. We won the pole in the spring and finished well with the Impala SS, so we're looking forward to this weekend and learning a little bit more about the Car of Tomorrow.

One thing about Saturday night, I do believe in racing momentum. Some drivers believe in it, others do not. If my team was in the Chase, I would certainly want to leave Richmond with a good feeling about what we've done and what we believe we can do. I like Gordon's approach.

"We're going in pretty relaxed, but we're going in to fight hard for another victory," he said.

That would be a fifth victory and tie him with Johnson for the most wins in 2007. At any rate, we'll know the seedings after the checkered flag on Saturday night. Then the 12 drivers will take aim at the 2007 Nextel Cup.

And you know what Humpy Wheeler says about that.

Hot dog!

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.