Welcome to The Pace Lap, your catchall preview post! Let's get you started on race weekend with a metric truckload of stats, facts, opinion and innuendo.
The race: Saturday, Aug. 22, 7:43 p.m. Eastern
The specs: 400 laps on a 0.75-mile track. I'm no math major, but that's darn near 300 miles of short-track driving.
The broadcasts: ABC, plus the live chat right here on Yahoo! Sports.
Defending champ: Jimmie Johnson, who began his relentless, Vaderlike march toward the Cup last year by crushing the last hopes of anybody entering the Chase.
The standings leaders: Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and a bunch of other guys.
The history: Richmond International Raceway dates back to 1946, when it was a popular dirt track. Since then, it's hosted any kind of racing you can imagine, and runs almost all of its races under the lights. Up until this time last year, RIR had sold out 32 straight events. Stupid economy!
The appropriate video: Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip go at it way back in the Miller High Life 400 in Richmond in 1986, and you'll never guess who gets the win as a result:
Guy with the most to gain: Brian Vickers. Guy is in a total no-lose situation now. He's been the best driver in the sport for the last two months, and if he makes the Chase, he's ahead of schedule. If not, he'll be in the top 5 next year.
Guys with the most to lose: Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth. These guys are on the verge of falling out of the Chase, which would be a huge embarrassment to any of them. Biffle has been in the top 12 all year, Kenseth won the first two races of the season but nothing since, and Martin has won more races this year than anybody except Kyle Busch -- who probably belongs in this category too.
Our pick to win: Denny Hamlin. This ain't 2006, 2007 or 2008 any more, and Hamlin is ready to step up. What better place than at his favorite track? He's going into the Chase with total momentum, and hopes to turn it into a three-man race.
All right, you're up. Who's your pick for this weekend? Go!
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