Bowyer, Newman set stage for Chase showdown

RICHMOND, Va. -- Friday's first practice at Richmond International Raceway -- in which Clint Bowyer aced Ryan Newman by just .045 seconds -- was a perfect precursor for anyone trying to maximize the excitement of Saturday's Air Guard 400, the cutoff race to set the 12-man field for the seventh Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Bowyer, who leads 13th place Newman by 117 points, can clinch his spot in the Chase by finishing 28th at Richmond, no matter what Newman does. Bowyer's average finish at Richmond is 10th, with his worst finish being 18th in the spring of 2009.

Richmond Speeds

Practice 1

Pos.	Driver	Speed
1.	Clint Bowyer	122.688
2.	Ryan Newman	122.438
3.	Juan Montoya	122.349
4.	Carl Edwards	122.327
5.	David Reutimann	122.255

Complete Speeds

Final Practice

Pos.	Driver	Speed
1.	Carl Edwards	125.290
2.	Paul Menard	124.752
3.	Juan Montoya	124.464
4.	Greg Biffle	124.464
5.	Kasey Kahne	124.441

Complete speeds

"I've been in this deal before," Bowyer said. "I know when to be nervous and when not to be -- and it's still time to be nervous. It's a good feeling going in with over a 100-point lead and in the situation we're in. I mean, anything can happen, of course. But, the odds are in our favor, certainly.

"I'm looking forward to the race -- looking forward to having a good night. This is my favorite race track -- one of my best race tracks. The night race at Richmond, this is an awesome race to be a part of. I'm looking forward to it and enjoying the rest of [Saturday] night with all the festivities. This is a special thing -- to be a part of that Chase is very relieving, very gratifying."

Newman knows the feeling. In 2005, Newman came to Richmond one point out of qualifying for the second annual Chase; and he raced his way into what was then a 10-man field for the championship playoff. This year, he knows qualifying for the Chase may take a small miracle, but to Newman, the excitement level is no less.

"I'm just excited to be here doing what I love -- it's not a job even though it is, and I feel like it at some points [but] it's just a great opportunity and something I love to do and that's it," Newman said. "To even be in this position is nice. There are guys that are racing, have raced their heart out all year long and they're 20th in points right now -- so just to be in this position is a blessing in itself."

Bowyer and Newman's trucks are parked side-by-side in Richmond's garage, and spirits were no less high among Bowyer's men, particularly crew chief Shane Wilson, who last year had to live through the bitter disappointment of Bowyer's team missing the Chase for the first time in three years.

A year ago, Bowyer came to Richmond 148 points out of 12th, and he was 16th in the standings, so it was easy for Wilson to smile just as much as Newman was as they stood 10 feet apart.

"Obviously, the way I look at it is we're in a lot better shape than we were in last year," Wilson said in between practices. "We made enough points at Atlanta [last weekend] that we're coming in here in a lot more comfortable spot than coming in with just a 40- or 50-point lead. So we're pretty pleased about that, and we've just got to go and finish the deal out [Saturday] night."

Just then, Bowyer came out of the back of the hauler and stuck his head into his crew chief's conversation, making a joke about his car's ill handling -- and making both men laugh heartily as Wilson acknowledged something -- one hot lap -- that often skews a practice sheet.

"We put up a good lap time [to lead the session], but we still averaged in the top five, so we're pretty pleased with that," Wilson said. "We're racers, and we're going to try to get the best mousetrap that we can, because the better our car is, the easier our night will be Saturday night to accomplish what we need to accomplish."

Newman said he had no idea exactly what he needed to do, and that wouldn't affect his approach, anyway.

"I don't even know what has to happen to make the Chase -- all I know is that I'm going to try my hardest," Newman said. "I don't know what all has to happen but I know that I'm just going to do my best, try my hardest and where we end up is where we end up. Just like I said last week, I can't expect to make it up in two races, I can't expect to make it up in one race -- I try my best and if the math works and success happens, so be it. We'll celebrate afterward."

Bowyer fell to 12th on the Happy Hour sheet and Newman was two spots behind him, in 14th. But both men had decent averages. Carl Edwards had the fastest Happy Hour lap, 21.55 seconds, and also had the best average lap of 21.84 seconds. Bowyer was tied for the fifth-best average at 22.01 seconds, with Casey Mears, Scott Speed and Newman sharing an eighth-best average of 22.03 seconds.

His speed gives Newman hope for the final 11 races of the season, no matter what happens Saturday.

"If you don't make it in [to the Chase], obviously you want to get the most points in the Chase to say that 'if we were in it, we would have won the Championship,' just to say that, even though it wins you nothing," Newman said. "That's just my mentality -- to go out there and do the best job I can no matter if it's Kansas or Richmond or going into Daytona next year -- just have fun racing."

Bowyer's taking the same approach, but taking nothing for granted, despite his points advantage.

"Man, I'll tell you, with a 117-point lead, that's a pretty good pad," Bowyer said. "We've just got to go out -- with any luck at all, we'll be in this thing. If we're not, I'd said it was not meant to be. But that is a pretty elite crowd -- 12 drivers, 12 teams and an opportunity to win a championship is pretty special."

It's special enough that it's got his Richard Childress Racing team leader Kevin Harvick on pins-and-needles as he thinks about Saturday.

"The only thing I don't like racing around on the race track right now is the 33 car [Bowyer], because I'm so worried about just touching it, being involved in something," Harvick said. "That's my biggest concern on the race track right now is not affecting anything that the No. 33 is doing or has going. That is really is my first concern, to be honest with you.

"I get uncomfortable racing around that car at this point because I know how important all that is to that car. I think they're in a really good spot. I just don't like being around them because of being on the same team and everything that's at stake."

Martin Truex Jr. crashed his No. 56 Toyota in Turn 1 early in the first practice and his Michael Waltrip Racing team pulled his backup car off the hauler and had it on track by the end of the session, which Truex ran 34 laps and was 35th on the sheet. He ended up 15th of 48 cars that took to the track in Happy Hour.

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• Edwards continues strong run with pole