For Drivers Points, see my 2009 Sprint Cup DRIVERS Points Standings page

NOTE: DRIVERS points and OWNERS points are NOT the same, teams who fail to make the race still get points, while drivers who miss the race get no points

Hamlin wins at Richmond: #11-Denny Hamlin won the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond International Race for his 1st win at Richmond [his home track], 2nd win of 2009 and 6th of his career. #2-Busch finished 2nd followed by #24-Gordon, #5-Martin, #18-Busch, #33-Bowyer, #83-Vickers, #77-Hornish Jr., #29-Harvick and #39-Newman. Points leader #14-Stewart finished 17th. #17-Kenseth finished 25th and fell out of the top 12 and for the first time since The Chase started in 2004, Kenseth will not be in The Chase. #83-Vickers got in to the Chase, beating #18-Busch by 8 points. There were 10 cautions for 56 caution laps and there were 16 lead changes among 5 drivers.
Scheduled Race Re-Airs: ESPN2: Sunday, September 13 at 3:30am/et; ESPN Classic: Sunday, September 13 at 11:00am/et; SPEED, Wednesday, September 16 at 12:00pm/et.
For race results, awards and more, see my Richmond Race Results Page.(9-12-2009)

UNOFFICIAL Sprint Cup CLASSIC Driver Points Standings
[after Richmond, race 26 of 36]:
pos, car#, driver, points, behind, [wins], race finish
1) #14-Tony Stewart [3 wins], 3806, finished 17th at Atlanta
2) #24-Jeff Gordon [1 win], 3627, -179, 3rd
3) #48-Jimmie Johnson [3 wins], 3534, -272, 11th
4) #11-Denny Hamlin [2 wins], 3491, -315, WON
5) #2-Kurt Busch [1 win], 3322, -484, 2nd
6) #5-Mark Martin [4 wins], 3291, -515, 4th
7) #9-Kasey Kahne [2 wins], 3280, -526, 12th
8) #99-Carl Edwards, 3280, -526, 15th
9) #39-Ryan Newman, 3272, -534, 10th
10) #42-Juan Pablo Montoya, 3251, -555, 19th
11) #16-Greg Biffle, 3249, -557, 13th
12) #83-Brian Vickers [1 win], 3203, -603, 7th
Failed to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup:
13) #18-Kyle Busch [4 wins], 3195, -8 points out of 12th, 5th
14) #17-Matt Kenseth [2 wins], 3165, -38, 25th
15) #33-Clint Bowyer, 3059, -144, 6th
15) #00-David Reutimann [1 win] 3048, -153, 20th
For drivers and owners points standings, see the Drivers Points Standings page.(9-12-2009)

UNOFFICIAL Sprint Cup CHASE Standings
[after Richmond, race 26 of 36]:
pos, car#, driver, points, behind, [wins], race finish
1) #5-Mark Martin [4 wins], 5040, finished 4th at Richmond
2) #14-Tony Stewart [3 wins], 5030, 17th
3) #48-Jimmie Johnson [3 wins], 5030, -10, 11th
4) #11-Denny Hamlin [2 wins], 5020, -20, WON
5) #9-Kasey Kahne [2 wins], 5020, -20, 12th
6) #24-Jeff Gordon [1 win], 5010, -30, 3rd
7) #2-Kurt Busch [1 win], 5010, -30, 2nd
8) #83-Brian Vickers [1 win], 5010, -10, 7th
9) #99-Carl Edwards, 5000, -40, 15th
10) #39-Ryan Newman, 5000, -40, 10th
11) #42-Juan Pablo Montoya, 5000, -40, 19th
12) #16-Greg Biffle, 5000, -40, 13th
For drivers and owners points standings, see the Drivers Points Standings page.(9-12-2009)

OWNERS CHASE: The Owners championship takes the same format as the drivers championship. Owners have their own Chase, so if a team uses more then one driver and is in the Top 12 after 26 races, that TEAM [not driver] would run for the Chase for the owners championship. The drivers would NOT. This means a driver in the Chase would have a team that is NOT in the chase. Rules on The Chase on my Chase News and Rules page 2009

NOTES II: these points standings are directly from NASCAR Statistics, the unofficial are posted after the race and the official are posted when released, usually sometime Monday afternoon. If they differ from NASCAR.com, take it up with NASCAR.com, I do NOT run that site and have no idea why they would differ, usually with the way penalties are handled, Folks with questions can email NASCAR or NASCAR.com, see my Racing FAQ page this info. Most questions come from folks in Fantasy Leagues, I don't not participate or follow these, ask the person running it how they handles penalties, they should have a rule for such a thing, I do not mediate such things or draft drivers for anyone.

The Points Penalties for the 2009 season
#1-Martin Truex Jr. and team owner 25 pts [Chicago 7-11-2009]
#7-Robby Gordon and team owner 50 pts [Charlotte 5-25-2009]
#46-Carl Long and team owner 200 pts [Sprint Showdown, LMS 5-16-2009]

Truex's car too high at Chicago UPDATE Penalties announced: The #1 Chevy driven by Martin Truex Jr. did not pass a post-race inspection when NASCAR officials discovered the right rear quarter panel was too high on the car. Truex finished 16th in the LifeLock 400 race at Chicagoland Speedway. The car will be taken back to the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., for further evaluations. NASCAR officials will determine if the height problem is a violation that requires a penalty. Any announcement of the process will come later this week, likely on Tuesday or Wednesday. Similar height situations have resulted in championship point reductions and fines in the past.(ESPN.com)(7-12-2009)
UPDATE: NASCAR announced that Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #1 Chevy in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, crew chief Kevin Manion and car owner Teresa Earnhardt have been penalized for rule violations during last weekend’s event at Chicagoland Speedway. Truex was penalized 25 points in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver standings. Manion was fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31, 2009. Earnhardt was penalized 25 points in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner standings. The three were penalized for violating Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); Section 12-4-I (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules) and Section 20-12.8.1C (right rear quarter panel height did not meet the required specifications; too high in post-race inspection).(NASCAR)(7-14-2009) Comment here

Robby penalized for rear axle: NASCAR has issued penalties to the #7 team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as a result of rules violations committed at Lowe’s Motor Speedway earlier this week. The #7 car, driven and owned by Robby Gordon, was found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4I (any determination by NASCAR Officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-10.6H (rear axle housing exceeded the maximum specified toe of plus or minus one degree) of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rule Book. The violation was found during post-race inspection on May 25. As a result, Gordon has been penalized with the loss of 50 championship owner and 50 championship driver points. Crew chief Kirk Almquist has been fined $50,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.(NASCAR PR)(5-27-2009) Comment here

Long's team recieves record penalty: NASCAR has issued penalties, suspensions and fines to the #46 team [#146] in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as a result of rules infractions committed during last weekend’s event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The car was found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-I (any determination by NASCAR Officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-5.4A (engine exceeded the maximum engine size of 358.000 cubic inch displacement) of the 2009 NASCAR rule book. As a result, crew chief Charles Swing has been fined $200,000, suspended from the next 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship events, suspended from NASCAR until Aug. 18 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31. Driver Carl Long and owner Danielle Long have been penalized with the loss of 200 driver and 200 owner points, respectively, suspended from the next 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship events, suspended from NASCAR until Aug. 18 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.(NASCAR)(5-20-2009)