Weekend That Was: RIR (cont'd)

No sympathy

Kenseth wasn't too sympathetic about Gordon's fall from the first seed to second for the Chase.

"Everybody thinks about it different," he said. "But you've got to create a whole new way of thinking, and start thinking about the new way. Without his 100-point penalty and if there was no Chase format, Jeff certainly would have the championship this year. So far, for 26 races, they've performed like a championship team more than anybody else.

Inside The Chase

After back-to-back wins at California and Richmond, Jimmie Johnson is hitting his stride as the Chase starts.

• Complete story, click here
• It's go time for Gordon
• Busch, Harvick get in
• Chasing momentum
• Aumann: Key moments
• Complete Coverage

"But the 48 is right there and they're on their way, and who knows how some of those other teams would have run if it wasn't a Chase format? They might have squandered a few points here and there, taking chances on stuff because they thought it wouldn't matter."

Others out there

Despite the media blitz concerning the Chase (and more specifically the saturation coverage of the guy who finished 13th and out of it altogether), there were other stories largely overlooked at Richmond.

David Ragan and Johnny Sauter finished third and fifth, respectively. It was the rookie Ragan's best career finish and his first top-five since finishing fifth in the season-opening Daytona 500. It was the first top-five for Sauter this season and in his fledging career.

Others well out of the Chase picture who fared well at Richmond: Kasey Kahne continued a late-season surge and finished eighth; lame-duck Joe Gibbs Racing driver J.J. Yeley finished 10th; and David Reutimann of much-maligned Michael Waltrip Racing placed a season-high 13th.

Ragan kind of summed it up for all the overlooked upstarts in the race afterward.

"We just showed everybody that we're capable of running in the top-five or top-10," he said. "We knew that we had some great racecars, but here in Nextel Cup racing it takes a lot more than just a good car. You've got to have good pit stops. You can't have mistakes on restarts. You just have to have a solid night all the way around, and that's what it takes."

Pit stops

• With half of the Chase races running the COT, it's no wonder folks such as Kenseth give the top teams from Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing the edge. Those two organizations have been a step ahead of the rest in their COT programs all year, and now it looks as if it probably will pay off with a championship for one of their teams.

• Edwards, in his No. 99 Ford, and Busch, in his No. 2 Dodge, appear to be the favorites to spoil the Chevrolet party in the Chase because they won two races each this season and they've both won recently. But don't rule out the steady Kenseth, no matter how much he tries to downplay his chances. The elder Busch, by the way, drives the only Dodge to qualify.

• Remember when everyone (or at least Jack Roush) was worried about Toyota coming into Cup racing and dominating this season? Maybe they should have kept their eyes closer on Chevrolet, which clinched its 31st Manufacturer's Championship since 1952 -- and fifth in a row -- with Johnson's victory at Richmond. This year, Chevys have won 19 of the 26 Cup races and have nine drivers in the 12-man Chase.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.