Driver Tony Stewart ‘s strong second place at Richmond moved him up to third in the standings, comfortably for now at +246 over 13th place. Owner Stewart saw his second car piloted by #39-Ryan Newman come in fourth and crack the Top 12 for the first time this season. Newman, who has been second only to Stewart in points scored over the last five races, has risen an impressive 17 spots in the standings over that period. #31-Jeff Burton placed a strong third at RIR, but #33-Clint Bowyer continued his recent slide with an 18th, now only 56 points ahead of 13th, and #29-Kevin Harvick’s nightmarish season continued with a mishap and 34th at Richmond. Plenty of time left to do it, but Harvick now stands 11 spots and 208 points out of the Top 12. Mark Martin carded a fifth at RIR and his relentless march to the Top 12 continued at RIR. Now just 61 points out of Kenseth, few are betting against the #5 getting into the Chase, who will he unseat?. Did you know? after 10 races, Matt Kenseth was 24th in points and 204 pts out of 12th and in 2005, Kenseth was 24th and 240 points out of 10th [they took 10 drivers 2004-2006] and rallied both years to make the Chase, the deepest any driver has come from to make the Chase in it’s five year history. For more Chase Stats after Richmond, see my Chase Stats after Richmond page.(5-7-2009)
