After all of the build up and tension over who would make the Cup cut, the outcome was no different than the beginning. The top 12 drivers coming into the race finished as the top 12 heading into the Chase. The only change came in how the drivers are seeded after bonus points and tie-breakers were included.

  With such a commanding lead coming into Richmond, Kyle Busch remained the top driver with 5080 points while Carl Edwards is close behind with 5050 points and Jimmie Johnson at 5040. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin and Jeff Burton each have 5010 points but are seeded fourth through seventh after figuring in the tie-breakers of finishes throughout the season.

  The final five drivers seeded 8-12 are Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth with 5000 points each.

  Though Chesterfield native Hamlin took a third place finish in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400, the tension of making the Chase cut dropped dramatically when David Ragan, the greatest threat to knock him out of the running, ran into problems early. On lap 122, Ragan went sideways along with teammate Matt Kenseth and both cars hit the wall. “With the troubles that the 6 had, it really didn’t matter,” Hamlin said. “I could go out there and race as hard as I wanted to.

  “I knew the chances of the 6 getting in the Top-10 before the end of the race were relatively slim, so if I did fall out of the race, I was still going to be okay,” Hamlin said. 

  With a 32nd place finish, David Ragan missed the cut by 77 points while Casey Kahne came in 19th in the race but finished 69 points off the Chase mark.

  The most tension on the day came in the No. 7 car of Bowyer who came into the race 12th in points and needed a strong race to remain above the cutoff line. While running good early, Bowyer dropped below the cutoff line in points midway through the race but bounced back. “Man I tell you, I knew it was going to be a roller coaster day for us,” Bowyer said. “You start up front, things are going good, you are in the top five, things are looking good. Then all of a sudden, you are in the back and the car is tight and you are about go a lap down and things are bad. I am just really proud of the guys for sticking together and got the car back right and going forward.”

  While Busch, Edwards and Johnson appear to have a leg up heading into the final 10 races, Edwards pointed out that anyone can win. “Look at how Tony (Stewart) ran today and Kevin (Harvick) and (Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle),” he said. “When everybody started talking about that (just a Busch, Edwards and Johnson battle for the title) I get a little bit of a chuckle out it because that would be the best case if you just had to race one other guy, but today was a good example. A flat tire for me. Kyle getting caught up in the wreck. Jimmie going out and dominating in winning, anything can happen. A couple of races like that and it could be a new field of people that weren’t predicted to be up front. So yeah, I think it’s gonna be a lot of guys. I think it’s gonna be defined by your bad days just like it usually is.”

Seed Driver Points
1. Kyle Busch 5080
2. Carl Edwards 5050
3. Jimmie Johnson       5040
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.    5010
5. Cline Bowyer 5010
6. Denny Hamlin 5010
7. Jeff Burton           5010
8. Tony Stewart 5000
9. Greg Biffle           5000
10. Jeff Gordon 5000
11. Kevin Harvick 5000
12. Matt Kenseth 5000