Chasing excitement

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RICHMOND, Va. – Now that's what I'm talking about!

In a race that had very little on the line for anyone except Dale Earnhardt Jr. – and to a lesser extent, Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch – Saturday night's Chevy Rock & Roll 400 here at Richmond International Raceway morphed from a yawner early on to one of the most exciting finishes NASCAR has seen in a long time.

And the irony is that the biggest story of the night wasn't about the win or how this was the final qualifying race for the Chase.

No, the real excitement was for the battle over which driver would finish runner-up.

Sure, Jimmie Johnson ran away with the win, but it was the fight for second that gave more than 100,000 race fans in the stands and millions more who watched on TV the kind of ending they dream about but rarely see.

If you had fingernails before the race, you likely wound up with nubs afterward, it was that exciting.

Over the final 50 laps, the competition between Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and rookie David Ragan – who was a latecomer to the party – produced the kind of racing scenario fans and drivers experience far too little but crave oh so much.

Gordon in second. Then Earnhardt. Back to Gordon. Back to Earnhardt.

(And the remaining drama of whether Harvick would find late trouble and allow Earnhardt to make the Chase lingered all along.)

"I had probably the best seat in the house watching the race between Gordon and Dale Jr. there," Stewart said. "It was a lot of fun."

Added Earnhardt, "I was actually surprising myself."

But while Earnhardt and Gordon focused on each other, Stewart attacked when they least expected it, passing both in one swoop and ultimately winding up as the guy who worked the hardest to finish second-best.

"I couldn't get by (Gordon), and I didn't want to rough him up too much," Earnhardt lamented. "I was like, 'Well, I can't figure out a way to get around him,' and I'm trying all kinds of things, and (Stewart) sneaks in there and drives right by us."

Stewart's move caused Earnhardt to push his car even harder. Unfortunately, the result was the same as four other times in the first 25 races: another race-ending blown engine.

Instead of a second- or third-place finish, the outgoing driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet was relegated to a disappointing 30th-place finish after what had been one of the best displays of close side-by-side racing seen from him this season.

To add insult to injury, the most popular driver in NASCAR worked so hard to give himself at least a fighting chance to make the Chase before proving himself a mere mortal, unable to pull off the miracle his legions of fans hoped and prayed for: to be one of the 12 Chase finalists.

Instead, guys like Stewart wound up having the most fun while Earnhardt's courageous battle went for naught in the final results.

"I felt like I was missing out on a lot of the fun stuff and got myself in the mix," Stewart said. "Junior was probably the better of the three of us car-wise, but then he had his problem. It's fun when you can race guys like Dale Jr. and Gordon and you can run that close with them."

In what has become almost a trademark strategy for him over his career, Stewart dutifully bided his time until he was able to pull off a two-for-one special with 29 laps remaining, taking both Gordon and Earnhardt on the low side of the track and then checking out for the remainder of the 400-lap event.

And let's not forget rookie David Ragan. For a guy who a year ago didn't even know whether he'd have the talent to stay on the Cup level, he raced down the stretch of Saturday's race with the savvy of a veteran.

Ragan was cautious not to get in the way of the Chase drivers, but at the same time he couldn't help himself from wanting to imbibe in some of the same fun Stewart, Earnhardt and Gordon were having. Ragan displayed a combination of smart aggressiveness with composure and restraint to end up with a career-best third-place finish – just in front of Gordon, one of his racing idols.

Sure, Saturday's race was a bit anticlimactic compared to the previous three episodes seen in September here at Richmond. There was no uplifting David vs. Goliath battle that saw Jeremy Mayfield make the Chase at practically the last possible second in 2004.

Nor was there a repeat of Ryan Newman racing his way in and beating out Gordon, Jamie McMurray and Elliott Sadler for a Chase spot in '05, which also was the same year Earnhardt failed to make the Chase for the first time (2007 marks the second time in three years that he heads to New Hampshire in September on the outside looking in).

And no, this race didn't have last season's drama of Kasey Kahne erasing a 90-point deficit to make the Chase while reigning champ Stewart missed the chance to defend his title by a mere 16 points.

Still, while many fans, drivers and reporters came to Richmond expecting an austere race, it would be hard to find any people who left several hours later without smiles on their faces.

Race No. 26 of the 2007 season was supposed to be the warmup for the Chase, there to whet our appetites for the fourth edition of NASCAR's championship-deciding format.

But now, the Chase has its work cut out for itself if it is to match the drama and excitement that unfolded Saturday night at Richmond.

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Article Number: 000077