September 8, 2009

I would have to say this is what the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship is all about. After 25 races there are still three drivers outside of the top 12 who mathematically have a chance to make the Chase. Doug Fritz and his team at Richmond International Raceway must be excited to have it all come down to their race Saturday night.

Doug, who is my counterpart at Richmond, is a graduate of Virginia Tech, and as most of you are aware college football started last weekend. Doug’s alma mater played Alabama Saturday night and to get the season started off right, my communications team thought it would be neat to send Doug a care package. So we boxed up some Tide detergent and rolls of toilet paper with a nice little note that read “Roll Tide Roll.” Of course we took pictures of it and made sure everyone knew about it. Doug has already assured us he will get us back.

After Saturday night’s race, there could be some high-profile drivers who have had some victories in 2009 left out of the Chase. A reporter sent an email Monday asking about the importance of certain drivers making the Chase and what kind of effect Dale Jr. not making the Chase might have on us at TSS? I told him that obviously we would like to have everybody's favorite driver in the Chase, and Dale Jr. certainly has a huge following at Talladega. Fortunately, Talladega is one of those tracks in the Chase that what you've done the rest of the season doesn't always matter. The AMP Energy 500 can certainly make or break the Chase, but it can also make a season for some.

I expect the AMP Energy 500 to be an exciting race, as usual, no matter what 12 drivers are in the Chase.