Last of the bonus points, seeds on line at Richmond

You know it's a busy week in the NASCAR world when Humpy Wheeler has to break out an all-you-can-eat stunt to try and get attention for his race next month. Some guy nicknamed "Jaws" eating hot dogs? I thought we already had a guy nicknamed "Jaws?" Hey, if that's what it takes to get you some coverage, eat away.

It has been such a busy week there has barely been time to eat, with driver announcements, teams changing manufacturers, drivers changing numbers, crew chiefs on the move, sponsors announcing they will not be back ... plus you can't forget abouy the NASCAR Cooks contest is down to eight semi-finalists. How do you have "eight" semifinalists?

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And then there was Jimmie Johnson hanging with Regis and Kelly (by the way, the Live with Regis and Kelly Web site had "NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson drops by," but they had a picture of Mark Martin. No respect. And no, don't ask me how I knew that). Anyway, once you get through all of that you can turn your attention to a night NASCAR fans love, the race at Richmond this Saturday.

This is a short week for everybody, the drivers, the teams, the guys that drive the transporters, the fans, everyone. But the pace of the week always seems to turn up the excitement when you walk into Richmond on Friday morning. It feels like you just got off the plane from California and there you are, right back in the middle of things. But once you arrive, you know this is the kind of place where you can enjoy the atmosphere and the event.

The Richmond weekend goes by in a flash. Sure, Friday is a long day with the Busch race that night, but this is an example of how NASCAR, and the track owners, can help teams, and fans, by shortening race weekends and helping everyone get more for their racing dollar. But that is for another column.

The Chase aside, Richmond is a fun place to race. We all know that. NASCAR's attempt to tweak the field and drag in the 11th and 12th guys in the standings could add more excitement to the Chase but it also took the "playoff" intensity out of this week, unless Kevin Harvick finishes 43rd and Dale Earnhardt Jr. pulls out a miracle. You want playoff excitement? Come watch the Florida State League Division Championship Series between Clearwater and Sarasota. It's a best of three. Now that's playoff excitement. You want to see good racing? Head for that track on East Laburnum with about 100,000 of your closest friends.

After this week, 10 races will determine the 2007 Nextel Cup Series champion. Of course, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson would have to skip one or two just to rest up, but not our guys. Jeff Gordon has the most to gain and the most to lose this week. His 317-point lead on Tony Stewart gets wiped out after the race on Saturday night and the top-12 drivers will be re-seeded based on 2007 race victories. Heading into the weekend, Johnson leads the series with five wins; Gordon has four. Both are locked into the Chase. It will be the third trip for Gordon; he finished third in 2004 and sixth last year. He missed the chase in 2005. For Gordon, Richmond is a good place to be heading.

"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.