RICHMOND, Va. -- Clint Bowyer was too busy throughout Sunday afternoon's Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway to take the time to consider that it was a virtual microcosm of his Sprint Cup season.

In the end, the relief for Bowyer, crew chief Gil Martin and their Richard Childress Racing crew was palpable as they secured their spot, for the second consecutive season, as the third RCR car in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Standings

Tiebreaker is best finishes beyond race victories

Pos.	Driver	Points
1.	Kyle Busch	5,080
2.	Carl Edwards	5,050
3.	Jimmie Johnson	5,040
4.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	5,010
5.	Clint Bowyer	5,010
6.	Denny Hamlin	5,010
7.	Jeff Burton	5,010
8.	Tony Stewart	5,000
9.	Greg Biffle	5,000
10.	Jeff Gordon	5,000
11.	Kevin Harvick	5,000
12.	Matt Kenseth	5,000

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"It's huge -- this is a big deal," Bowyer said in between accepting congratulations on pit road from Martin and car owner Richard Childress, handshakes from his crewmen and a vigorous hug from teammate Jeff Burton, who's had some contentious moments with Bowyer this season (watch video). "We wanted to be a part of [the Chase] and I'm really proud of all the guys for digging deep and making the extra effort. It's been a long summer, and this is a good way to pay things back."

Bowyer was one of four drivers who came into the 26th race of the season in varying degrees of close to getting pushed out of the fifth annual Chase. Bowyer was 12th, only 17 points clear of David Ragan. Denny Hamlin (11th, 93 ahead), Jeff Gordon (10th, 102 ahead) and Matt Kenseth (ninth, 109 ahead) were the others.

But if Bowyer, who won the second Cup race of his career at this .750-mile oval in May, could have contemplated his season- and race-long fortunes as he soldiered into a 12th-place finish, he would have come to the conclusion that the race and season have mirrored each other.

On Sunday, Bowyer's No. 07 Chevrolet was a fixture out front for the first half of the race, much as the season's first half, when Bowyer moved into the top 10 in the fifth race of the year and then to fourth -- his highest point in the standings -- after winning the Crown Royal 400 here in May. But from the first Richmond event to this point, Bowyer hasn't led another lap. And in the 16 races since, he's had eight finishes of 20th or worse as he's struggled to get back into the top 10 in the standings.

"Like I said, it's been a long summer for us," Bowyer said. "We got down and you get to digging and trying a lot of things trying to catch up and you get to chasing your tail -- and that's certainly where we were at. We've had some momentum and had some good runs here in the last two or three weeks that kept us in this thing, so we're capable of doing it. I think we've proven that before. We've just got to get together here and keep together and we can do it."

Bowyer's finish left him 69 points clear of current 13th-place man Kasey Kahne while Kenseth fell to 11th, 85 points ahead of Kahne after being involved in a wreck when Ragan got high entering Turn 1 and spun. Kenseth finished 39th.

Gordon had an up-and-down day that ended in eighth and left him 10th in the points, 174 clear of Kahne. Hamlin scored his third consecutive third-place finish and jumped to ninth before the standings were reset for the Chase.

With the reset, Kyle Busch leads the field into next weekend's Chase opener at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with 5,080 points. Bowyer, thanks to his Richmond victory in May, is fifth with 5,010 while Hamlin is sixth, also with 5,010 after winning at Martinsville in April. Gordon and Kenseth are 10th and 12th, respectively, with 5,000 points each.

“

This Chase is short -- only 10 races -- and hopefully we can get started up on the right foot again because we're a lot farther forward in the points going into New Hampshire. So if we can come out of there with a good finish and momentum and on the right foot, the sky's the limit.

”

CLINT BOWYER

Bowyer's day was the most nerve-wracking. On Lap 244, he restarted back near 30th position following pit stops while Ragan, who had been involved in an accident on Lap 122, was in eighth due to staying on the track. As the cars were positioned on the racetrack, Ragan was in the Chase and Bowyer was out.

Bowyer was philosophical about it.

"That's all it takes," Bowyer said. "That's what this sport's all about -- it's a very humbling sport. We went from where things were looking good, we were running the top five and the car was fast to all of a sudden we're in the back and we couldn't go, we almost went a lap down and things got pretty tense. But I'm really proud of everybody for staying calm and sticking together -- getting the car correct and going back up front."

Martin, however, was a little irate at the circumstances that led to his car's momentary lapse.

"Man, it's a relief that it's over and we're in [the Chase]," Martin said. "There is absolutely no way that [stress] can be good for you right there. We got boxed in on that one caution where [NASCAR control] went quickie yellow [all cars, both lead lap and laps down, pit at the same time]. I have no idea why they did that, because we got messed up with [Juan Montoya, who was pitted in the adjacent box] getting into the pits and it cost us 15 spots. So we got messed up in the pits because they went quickie yellow and there was absolutely no reason -- because it wasn't raining or anything else. That ruined our day, obviously, but it still turned out all right.

"The car was a top-five car all day long and at the end it was running [the leader's] lap times and we had to come from a deep hole to get back out. We were 29th, 28th and we passed our way back up to 12th and that was a testament to how good the car was and how good a job Clint did."

Bowyer began a 100-lap digging spree that put him back into the top 15 and, after three of the race's total 14 cautions flew in the last 100 laps, into 12th.

"I knew it was going to be a rollercoaster day for us," Bowyer said. "You start up front, things are going good and you're in the top five and all of a sudden you're in the back and the car got tight because we were back there in traffic. That's crunch time when the lead lappers are coming -- pretty nerve-wracking, but a caution fell that time, thank God, and everything worked out."

Now, with his position in the championship hunt locked in, Bowyer can figure out how to get into position to do what he did in last year's Chase, namely win the kickoff race in New Hampshire.

"It's huge because that's another good racetrack for us, obviously," Bowyer said. "After moving up the ladder, we won't go into it so far back and we'll be able to move forward."

A year ago Bowyer, who was criticized by some for making the Chase without winning a race, qualified on the pole, led the most laps and won his first career race in the Sylvania 300 -- the kickoff again of the 10-race Chase.

Bowyer came into the 2007 Chase in 12th, 60 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson and ended up third, 376 points behind the two-time defending champion Johnson.

"Anybody can do that," Bowyer said of his 2008 competition. "This Chase is short -- only 10 races -- and hopefully we can get started up on the right foot again because we're a lot farther forward in the points going into New Hampshire. So if we can come out of there with a good finish and momentum and on the right foot, the sky's the limit."

Martin was sure of one thing, and that was that his team had earned its way into the Chase for the second year in a row.

"The best thing is that we got down and a lot of people counted us out, and we got back in," Martin said. "So we're looking forward to rolling into Loudon and this time we're going to roll in there with a win. The best thing about it is [the media] isn't going to be asking us how we got into the Chase without a win, and we've got our best tracks coming up."

Now that they're in, at least Gordon and Hamlin were enthused about their chances, while Kenseth continued to be skeptical.

"We were really strong at the start of the race and just seemed like the adjustments we made we lost a little bit of track position -- just couldn't never make up that ground," Gordon said. "Good effort, good racecar. I'm real proud of this team and I'm looking forward to starting this Chase.

"We take every race one at a time. Obviously it hasn't been the best year for us up to this point. We're searching; we're working hard and [coming] together as a team the best we can. We put out that best effort every single weekend thinking that we can win ... and hope that we surprise them in this Chase."

Hamlin was equally optimistic.

"Three thirds in a row after that [engine] problem in Michigan -- you can't ask for much more for a Chase run," Hamlin said. "We have momentum I feel like and it's a way to hopefully start off the Chase on a good foot by having these strong finishes. That's what this FedEx team needed."

Kenseth is one of only two drivers to make all five Chases, but his outlook wasn't as bright as those of Gordon and Hamlin.

"That's one of worst races I probably could have drove, so it was very frustrating and very disappointing," Kenseth said. "I'm glad we're in, in a way, but in another way with the way we're operating, I don't think we'll be a factor when we get there. We've just got to get rolling and get back into getting some good finishes and get working together and doing all that."