Doug Fritz is in his 10th season as president at Richmond International Raceway, which will host the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 this Saturday night.

A 1981 graduate of Virginia Tech, Fritz talked recently about his two greatest passions away from work -- motorcycles and Virginia Tech Hokies' football -- and why he loves the special place RIR occupies on NASCAR's Cup schedule.

Question: Your fall race never fails to live up to expectations heading into the Chase. How excited are you about this year's event?

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The emotions and the tempers around the garage are throughout the weekend prior to the race on Saturday, you just have a different feeling. You can sense the drivers' intensity.

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-- DOUG FRITZ

Fritz: This is the sixth year we've been the last race before the Chase. What makes it neat is that the drivers are talking about Richmond when they open up the garage in Daytona (to start the season). They know where it's at on the schedule and what's involved, and that they want to be in the top 12 in points going into the final 10 races. They know that path leads right through Richmond.

So it's been great from a driver standpoint, from a fan standpoint, from a media standpoint. We think -- and a lot of people agree -- that this is the perfect race track to help set the field for the final 10 races that determine the championship. It truly is a fan favorite. We've seen some great, awesome racing the last five years in this last race to get into the Chase, and we expect a really good show again this year. You've got some guys trying to get in and some guys trying desperately to hold on and stay in the top 12. It's definitely going to get pretty dicey for some of those guys.

Q: When the Chase began in 2004, was there any apprehension on your part about being placed on the schedule as the last "regular-season race" as opposed to being in the actual Chase itself?

Fritz: When Brian France and Mike Helton and the NASCAR team developed this idea, immediately a light went off that this was really going to be good for Richmond fans and Richmond International Raceway. I think we immediately knew this had some real potential -- knowing the value of either you're going to be in the playoffs like in other major sports, or you're not going to make it. We knew we would be playing a critical role in that determination of teams being in or out.

From the beginning, it's just gotten bigger and better. I think the Chase has lived up to what NASCAR and the drivers expected it to be. We're just proud to be a part of it and glad to be on the schedule where we are. ... The emotions and the tempers around the garage are throughout the weekend prior to the race on Saturday, you just have a different feeling. You can sense the drivers' intensity and how important this is if you're on the bubble, and you have a chance of being in or getting knocked out. It's a lot of pressure on those race teams, and you can sense it in the garage area. (Continued)