NASCAR Pre-race: FOX - 7:00pm/et

Television Race Coverage: FOX, 7:30pm/et

In the Booth: Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds

Pit Reporters: Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum, Krista Voda

Hollywood Hotel: Chris Myers and Michael Waltrip

Virtual Garage: Jeff Hammond

SPEED's NASCAR Raceday Pre-Race Show: 4:30 pm/et with John Roberts, Kyle Petty, Kenny Wallace

Scheduled Race Re-Air Dates/Times: Wednesday, May 2 at 12:00pm/et on SPEED

TV Listings, Links and Info:
Jayski's TV Listings Page
NASCAR on TV
Race Fan TV

This Week - Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM Satellite NASCAR Channel 90

motorracingnetwork.com

MRN Live Streaming

siriusxm.com

Practices:
Friday, April 27, 12:00 - 2:00pm/et, TV-SPEED

Happy Hour 'Final' practice: Friday, April 27, 2:45 - 3:30pm/et, TV-SPEED

Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-42, Friday, April 27 at 5:35 pm/et, TV-SPEED, re-air scheduled 1:00 am/et.

Track Specifications:
Race Length: 400 laps, 300 miles
Track Length: 0.75 mile oval, measured 13 1/2 feet in from SAFER Barrier
Track Width: 60 feet with 10-foot apron
Banking: turns: 14 degrees; frontstretch 8 degrees; backstretch 2 degrees
Straights: Backstretch - 860 feet; Frontstretch - 1290 feet
Pit Road: 64-foot width, 43 concrete pit stalls, each measuring 28'x19'
Pit Road Speed: 45mph
Pace Car Speed: 50mph
Seating Capacity: 97,912 was 112,029
Attendence 2010: 93,000
Attendence 2009: 108,000
Attendence 2008: 110,000
Attendence 2007: 112,079
Opened: 1946 (First NASCAR race was 1953)
Last Repaved: Fall of 2003

Race Festivities/Officials:
Grand Marshal: not announced
Command to start engines: VA Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling
Honorary Starter/Wave Green Flag: not shown
Invocation: Rev. Joe Ellison
National Anthem: U.S. Air Force Heritage Band
Military Flyover: VAW 124 E-2s

Track Websites:
Richmond International Raceway
ISC Motorsports
Richmond International Raceway - Facebook
Richmond International Raceway - Twitter

April 2011: see my Richmond Race Info page

September 2011: see my Richmond Race Info page

September 2011 Race Winner: #29-Kevin Harvick, 89.910mph, started 7th

May 2011 Race Winner: #18-Kyle Busch, 95.280mph, started 20th

Track Race Record: Dale Jarrett, Sept 1997, 109.047mph

Slowest Race Record: Tony Stewart, 86.824mph, 5/2002

(since track was reconfigured for the Sept 1988 race)

September 2011 Pole Sitter: #00-David Reutimann, 127.383, finished 28th

May 2011 Pole Sitter: #42-Juan Pablo Montoya, 128.639mph, finished 29th

Track Qualifying Record: Brian Vickers, May 2004, 129.983mph

Worst Starting Spot to Win: Clint Bowyer, May 2008, started 31st

The Numbers for Richmond International Raceway, Caution Update:
1 - fewest cautions (three times, most recent, 3/1/70)
1 - fewest cars on lead lap at finish (22 times, most recent 10/12/75)
2 - fewest leaders (six times, most recent 2/23/75)
2 - fewest lead changes (seven times, most recent 2/23/75)
4 - fewest laps led by race winner (Kyle Petty, 2/23/86)
5 - number of jet dryers available for track drying this weekend
6 - fewest caution laps (6/5/60)
12 - most leaders (four times, most recent 5/6/07)
13 - most wins by driver (Richard Petty)
15 - most cautions (three times, most recent 9/10/11)
22 - wins from the pole; 35 from the front row (111 races)
25 - most lead changes (twice, most recent 3/3/96)
32 - most cars on lead lap at finish (9/7/08)
50 - different pole winners
47 - different race winners
43 - most running at finish (9/7/08)
90 minutes - amount of time it takes to dry the .75-mile track after a significant rainfall
123 - most caution laps (two times, most recent 9/8/74)
275 - number of Sprint Cup Series races in state of Virginia at nine tracks
488 - most laps led by race winner (9/13/70 - Richard Petty - 500-lap race)
Key RIR Dates:
1946 - Ted Horn won the first race on half-mile dirt track (10/12/46) in open-wheel car
1953 - Lee Petty won the first NASCAR Grand National Division, now Sprint Cup, race on the half-mile dirt track (4/19/53).
1955 - Paul Sawyer and driver Joe Weatherly purchased the track
1964 - race run under temporary lights on a Tuesday night (3/10/64)
1968 - last race on dirt track won by David Pearson (3/24/68)
1968 - first race on paved track won by Richard Petty (9/8/68)
1969 -- track remeasured from .625-mile to .5625-mile; remeasured from .5625-mile to .5-mile; remeasured again from .5-mile to .542-mile prior to the first race of 1970
1988 - track reconfigured to its current .75-mile layout
1991 - permanent lighting added prior to fall event won by Harry Gant (9/7/91)
1999 - International Speedway Corporation (ISC) acquired track
2012 Caution Update
1 - fewest cautions this season (Fontana 3/25/12)
2 - number of races extended beyond scheduled distance in 2012 (Daytona and Martinsville); one in first eight races in 2011 (Daytona)
10 - most cautions this season (Daytona, 2/27/12)
43 - number of cautions in the first eight races of 2012; 67 in first eight races in 2011
250 of 2,526 - number of laps under caution in 2012
299.073 of 2,914.390 - miles under caution in the first eight races
(Darnell Communications for SRT Motorsports and Dodge)(4-26-2012)

Facts and Notes about Richmond International Raceway:
· Originally known as the Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds, Richmond International Raceway held its first race in 1946 as a half-mile dirt track.
· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was April 19, 1953.
· The spring 1964 race was run on a Tuesday night under temporary lighting.
· The track name changed to Virginia State Fairgrounds in 1967.
· The track surface was changed from dirt to asphalt between races in 1968.
· The track name changed to Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway in 1969.
· The track was re-measured to .542-mile for 1970.
· The track was rebuilt as a three-quarters-mile D-shaped oval following the Feb. 21, 1988 race.
· The first race under permanent lights was Sept. 7, 1991.
· The first season with both races as night races was 1999.
Notebook
· There have been 111 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond since the track opened in 1953.
· The current 400-lap race length was established on the .542-mile measurement in March 1976.
· Buck Baker won the pole in 1953.
· Lee Petty won the first race in April 1953.
· There have been 50 different pole winners, led by Bobby Allison and Richard Petty (eight).
· Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with five poles.
· 47 different drivers have posted victories at Richmond, led by Richard Petty (13).
· Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Terry Labonte and Jimmie Johnson (three) lead active race winners.
· Petty Enterprises has won 15 races at Richmond, more than any other team.
· 63 of 111 races have been won from the top five starting positions, including 22 from the pole.
· The last driver to win from the pole was Kyle Busch in 2010.
· The furthest back in the field a race winner has started was 31st, by Clint Bowyer in the 2008 spring race.
· Kyle Busch (5.0) and Denny Hamlin (7.5) are the only active drivers with an average finish in the top 10.
· Kyle Petty became the first third-generation NASCAR race winner when he won his first race at Richmond, on Feb. 23, 1986. Richard Petty posted his first Richmond victory in 1961 and Lee Petty won the very first Richmond race in 1953.
· Three of the last four races have had a margin of victory less than one second.(NASCAR)(4-24-2012)

Some post-Richmond stats:
• #18-Kyle Busch's victory snapped a 21-race drought that dated back to Michigan last August. The win was his fourth Cup victory at Richmond, all of them scored consecutively in the Cup Series' last four visits to Henrico County in the spring.
• For those keeping count, Stewart-Haas Racing has three victories, two with #14-Stewart and one with #39-Ryan Newman. Joe Gibbs Racing now has three victories, two with #11-Denny Hamlin and one with Kyle Busch. Roush Fenway Racing has two wins, one with #17-Matt Kenseth and one with #16-Biffle. Penske Racing has one win with #2-Brad Keselowski. That's your totals, overall in just nine events. Richard Childress Racing and Hendrick Motorsports are still posting goose eggs in the win column in 2012.
• Kyle Busch's win Saturday was the 24th Cup victory of his career, moving him into a tie with brother Kurt in that category.
• The top-10 finishers at Richmond piloted four Chevys, four Toyotas, a Ford and a Dodge.
• #88-Earnhardt and #48-Johnson now lead all drivers with seven top-10 finishes in this season's nine races. Kenseth and Biffle lead the pack with five top-5 results in those nine events.
• Earnhardt's fourth top-5 finish of the season matches his total number of top 5s scored in all of 2011. The last time he managed more such results in a year was in 2008.
• #14-Stewart led a lap (118 of them, actually) for the first time since Fontana.
• #5-Kasey Kahne's fifth-place finish was his best of the season.
• #99-Edwards now has five consecutive finishes of 11th or better.
• #42-Juan Pablo Montoya has finished 12th for the second straight week. In both instances, his team used a carefully orchestrated strategy of not having JPM run into a jet dryer.
• #16-Biffle's 18th-place result was his worst of the season.
• #29-Harvick's 19th-place run matches his worst of the season. He also finished 19th at Martinsville.
• #15-Clint Bowyer's seventh-place finish was his best since Bristol.
(Frontstretch)(4-30-2012)

For news, stats, records and more about this race track, see: Jayski's Richmond International Raceway Track News/Rumors/Links page

Kyle Busch wins at Richmond: #18-Kyle Busch won the Capital City 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway for his 1st win of the year, 4th at Richmond and his 24th career win.
#88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished 2nd followed by #14-Stewart, #11-Hamlin, #5-Kahne, #48-Johnson, #15-Bowyer, #55-Mark Martin (the polesitter), #2-Keselowski, and #99-Edwards.
#99-Edwards domanated much of the race, leading 206 laps, but was black flagged late by NASCAR for jumping a restart.
There were 5 cautions for 31 yellow flag laps. There were 14 lead changes among 7 drivers.
The estimated attendence was 88,000, down from 90,000 in the Spring 2011 race.
See race results, awards, money won, laps led, cautions and more on the Richmond Race Results page (pdf) and the official rundown on the Official Race Report. (4-28-2012)

2012 Sprint Cup Driver Championship Points Standings:
[after Richmond, race 9 of 36]
1) #16-Greg Biffle [1 win], 338
2) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. [0 wins], 333, -5
3) #11-Denny Hamlin [2 wins], 329, -9
4) #17-Matt Kenseth [1 win], 328, -10
5) #56-Martin Truex Jr. [0 wins], 316, -22
6) #48-Jimmie Johnson [0 wins], 314, -24
7) #29-Kevin Harvick [0 wins], 313, -25
8) #14-Tony Stewart [2 wins], 307, -31
9) #99-Carl Edwards [0 wins], 287, -51
10) #39-Ryan Newman [1 win], 278, -60
Chase wild card drivers:
11) #18-Kyle Busch [1 win, 11th in points], 265, -73
12) #2-Brad Keselowski [1 win, 13th in points], 252, -86
(ties broken by 1sts, 2nds, 3rd, etc)
See drivers championship points standings on the Drivers Points Standings page (pdf).(4-28-2012)

Top-35 in Owner Points and guaranteed a starting spot at Talladega:
#10 drops to 35th, #33 is still 36th and out, and drops further back in points, now 21 points out.
Rank) Car#-Driver/Team, owners pts, +/-
29) #93-Kvapil/BK Racing, 137, +38
30) #34-Ragan/Front Row, 135, +36
31) #38-Gilliland/Front Row, 134, +35
32) #32-Sorenson/FAS Lane Racing, 130, +31
33) #36-Blaney/Baldwin, 126, +27
34) #83-Cassill/BK Racing, 125, +26
35) #10-Reutimann-Patrick/Baldwin, 120, 21 ahead of 36th
these teams / drivers will need to qualify by speed:
36) #33-Leicht/Childress, 99, -21 from the top 35
37) #30-Stremme/Inception, 76, -44
37) #49-Yeley/Robinson. 73, -47
The teams are NOT locked in past the next race as the owners points change after each race.
For the owner points standings, see the Owners Points Standings page (pdf).(4-28-2012)

Race Fast Facts - Richmond International Raceway:
Kyle Busch won the 58th Annual Capital City 400 Presented By Virginia Is For Lovers, his 24th victory in 266 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and fourth top-10 finish in 2012.
This is his fourth victory and 13th top-10 finish in 15 races at Richmond International Raceway.
Kyle Busch has now won four consecutive Spring races at Richmond International Raceway breaking a tie with Richard Petty (1971-1973).
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (second) posted his 11th top-10 finish in 26 races at Richmond International Raceway. It is his seventh top-10 finish in 2012.
Tony Stewart (third) posted his 18th top-10 finish in 27 races at Richmond International Raceway.
Greg Biffle leads the point standings by 5 points over Dale Earnhardt Jr. (NASCAR Statistics)(4-28-2012)

Richmond Notes-n-Nuggets:
" Kyle Busch's 24th career victory is tied with brother Kurt for 26th all-time.
" Kyle Busch got his first victory in 2012, ending a 20-race winless streak.
" This is his first win since Michigan in August of last year.
" He's the seventh different race winner in 2012.
" Kyle Busch earned his fourth Richmond win in his 15th start.
" His four Richmond wins are the most among all active drivers.
" Kyle Busch now has nine short-track wins, ranking third among active drivers as he has won five of the last 13 short-track races.
" It was the 96th Cup victory for Joe Gibbs Racing, and ninth at Richmond.
" The third victory in 2012 for JGR ties Stewart/Haas for most this season.
" Dale Earnhardt Jr grabbed his seventh second-place finish since his last win (138 races).
" Tony Stewart (third) led 118 laps, but lost the lead on pit stops with 13 to go; only his third top-five finish of the season.
" Denny Hamlin (fourth) got his seventh top-five in his 13th start at Richmond.
" Kasey Kahne (fifth) notched his best finish of the season; has top-10 finishes in the past three races after none in the first six of 2012.
" Jimmie Johnson (sixth) recovered after being penalized for an uncontrolled tire on lap 308; his worst finish in the past eight races is 12th.
" Carl Edwards (10th) led a race high 206 laps, but was penalized for jumping the restart on lap 319.
" Martin Truex Jr (25th) had his first finish outside the top 10 in the past six races.(Racing Recall/nascar.com)(4-28-2012)

Lucky Dogs - Who got a lap back on each caution at Richmond: (and their finish)
Caution 1: #36-Blaney, 29th
Caution 2: #20-Logano, 24th
Caution 3: #83-Cassill, 20th
Caution 4: #18-Busch, 1st
Caution 5: #99-Edwards, 10th
(4-28-2012)

Race Coverage of the Capital City 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway is scheduled for Saturday, April 28, 2012.
Television (TV): FOX at 7:30 pm/et; Pre-Race show at 7:00 pm/et; green flag approx 7:43pm/et
Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius XM Satellite NASCAR Radio 90
Scheduled Race Re-Airs: on SPEED, Wednesday, May 2 at 12:00pm/et

Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the Capital City 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway have been made.
Pole sitter #55-Martin chose pit stall 1 [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole sitter #99-Edwards took pit stall 17, the next pitstall with an opening in front of it.
#29-Harvick, who starts 3rd took the 30th pit stall, the next stall with an opening in front of it.
The 43rd and final pit stall was taken by #51-Busch, who starts 13th.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on the Pit Stall Selection chart.(4-27-2012)

Links to results, practices, qualifying PDF's:
Official Race Report
Race Results
Drivers Points
Owners Points
Pit Stall Selections
Starting Lineup
Qualifying Results
Happy Hour Practice Speeds
Practice 1 Speeds page

NASCAR Green-White-Checkered Race Procedure: NASCAR allows a maximum of three restart attempts prior to the White Flag under NASCAR's Green-White-Checkered flag finish. If the leader has taken the White Flag and the caution flag is displayed, the field is frozen and the race will not be restarted. Previously, there was only one restart attempt. The procedure applies to all three national series. See rule and notes on the Green-White-Checker rule page.

Wave-around rule: The wave-around rule dictates that cars under penalty at the time of the caution are ineligible for the wave around.

See Jayski's - 2012 Sprint Cup Race Results Page for pole winner, race winner with speed and starting/finishing position, links to race results, drivers & owners points, pit stall selections, qualifying results/starting lineup, practice speeds and chase stats as well as link to race track and race information page for each race

Martin wins pole at Richmond: #55-Mark Martin won the pole for the Capital City 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway with a speed of 128.327mph for his 2nd pole of 2012, 53rd career pole. #99-Edwards was 2nd fastest followed by #29-Harvick, #22-Allmendinger, #18-Busch, #24-Gordon, #11-Hamlin, #56-Truex, Jr., #5-Kahne, and #88-Earnhardt Jr.
The go-or-go homers who made the race (8): #98-McDowell, #26-Wise, #30-Stremme, #87-Nemechek, #95-Speed, #19-Bliss, #33-Leicht, #74-Whitt.
The go-or-go homers who failed to qualify for the race (2):#23-Riggs & #49-Yeley.
See qualifying results, order, pole progression, go-or-go homers & starting lineup on the Richmond Lineup / Qualifying Page.(4-27-2012)

Qualifying Fast Facts - Richmond International Raceway:
Mark Martin won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 58th Annual Capital City 400 Presented By Virginia Is For Lovers with a lap of 21.040 seconds, 128.327 mph.
This is his 53rd pole in 837 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his second pole and fifth top-10 start in 2012.
This is his fifth pole in 53 races at Richmond International Raceway.
Mark Martin breaks his previous record as oldest Coors Light Pole winner at Richmond (53 years, 3 months, 19 days).
Carl Edwards (second) posted his third top-10 start of 2012 and his 10th in 16 races at Richmond International Raceway.
Kevin Harvick (third) posted his eighth top-10 start at Richmond International Raceway. It is his sixth in nine races this season. (NASCAR Statistics)(4-27-2012)

Coverage of Qualifying for the Capital City 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway is scheduled for Friday, April 27, 2012 at 5:35pm/et.
Television (TV): SPEED, 5:30pm/et
Scheduled Qualifying Re-Air: 1:00am/et

Qualifying Order for the Capital City 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway is posted. 45 cars/drivers are listed.
The first of the drivers scheduled to go out is #33-Leicht, slowest in practice.
The final driver scheduled to go out is #55-Martin, who was fastest in first practice.
Qualifying order is set by the first practice session, with slowest driver going out by speed and the fastest going out last. The non-top 35 drivers are now mixed in with the top-35 in owners points, slowest to fastest.
See the full qualifying order on the Richmond Qualifying Page.(4-27-2012)

Rain Out Procedures: the rain-out qualifying procedure for all three NASCAR national series is as follows: If first practice is run, but qualifying is unable to take place, the starting lineup will be based on speeds from the car's fastest lap from the first practice, with top-35 cars in owner points no longer segregated from the non-top 35 cars. Previously, the top 35 cars lined up in front of all other eligible car owners.

Happy Hour Practice for the Capital City 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond Interational Raceway is over after 45 scheduled minutes, the top five fastest, slowest and notes:
#88-Earnhardt, Jr. 123.853
#99-Edwards 123.706
#83-Cassill 123.209
#24-Gordon 123.113
#18-Busch 122.783
slowest: #49-Yeley 119.607 & #32-Sorenson 118.775.
See fastest speeds, best ten-lap averages, laps run and more on the Richmond Happy Hour Practice Speeds (pdf), no average speeds all laps and NOT changing back to the old way, just posting the pdf's. (4-27-2012)

Go-or-Go Homers practice for the Capital City 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway.
the final practice rank for the go-or-go homers (drivers not in the top 35 of current owners points)
These drivers would make the race if things stay the same:
#98-Michael McDowell, 7th fastest overall
#87-Joe Nemechek, 9th
#23-Scott Riggs, 16th
#26-Josh Wise, 17th
#19-Mike Bliss, 23rd
#95-Scott Speed, 24th
#30-David Stremme, 28th
#74-Cole Whitt, 35th
These drivers would miss the race if things stay the same:
#33-Stephen Leicht, 39th
#49-J.J. Yeley, 45th/last
(4-27-2012)

1st Friday Practice for the Capital City 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway is over, after 120 scheduled minutes, the top five fastest, slowest and notes:
#55-Martin 126.707
#16-Biffle 126.186
#27-Menard 126.139
#15-Bowyer 126.133
#20-Logano 125.997
slowest: #33-Leicht 121.425 & #32-Sorenson 121.425.
notes: #48-Johnson made slight contact with the outisde wall on his first laps of the session. Only minor sheetmetal damage. #27-Menard hit the wall coming off turn 4 when his throttle broke. He will have to go to a backup car. #29-Harvick's team will change the transmission on his engine after it stuck in second gear.
This practice will set the order for qualifying this afternoon at 5:35pm/et on SPEED.
See fastest speeds, best ten-lap averages, laps run and more on the Richmond 1st Practice Speeds (pdf), no average speeds all laps and NOT changing back to the old way, just posting the pdf's. (4-27-2012)

Go-or-Go Homers practice for the Capital City 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway.
the first practice rank for the go-or-go homers (drivers not in the top 35 of current owners points)
These drivers would make the race if things stay the same:
#19-Mike Bliss, 21st fastest overall
#87-Joe Nemechek, 24th
#26-Josh Wise, 27th
#23-Scott Riggs, 32nd
#98-Michael McDowell, 34th
#30-David Stremme, 36th
#74-Cole Whitt, 38th
#95-Scott Speed, 39th
These drivers would miss the race if things stay the same:
#49-J.J. Yeley, 42nd
#33-Stephen Leicht, 44th
(4-27-2012)

The Entry List for the Capital City 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway is posted, 46 teams/drivers [for 43 spots] are listed, including:
The #52 Hamilton Means team has withdrawn.
Cole Whitt will drive the #74.
Reed Sorenson listed in the #32 Ford.
Not in top 35 of owners points:
#19-Mike Bliss (46/4)
#23-Scott Riggs (45/8)
#26-Josh Wise (40/8)
#30-David Stremme (38/8)
#33-Stephen Leicht (36/8)
#49-J.J. Yeley (37/8)
#74-Cole Whitt (48/5)
#87-Joe Nemechek (42/8)
#95-Scott Speed (50/1)
#98-Michael McDowell (41/8)
In the event that qualifying is cancelled:
the eight who would make it [8]: #'s 33,49,30,26,98,87,23,74
missing the race would be [2]: #'s 19,95
See the full entry list at my Jayski's Richmond Entry List.(4-23/27-2012)

Top-35 in Owner Points and guaranteed a starting spot at Richmond:
#83 stays in the top 35, #33 is still 36th and out, but drops further back in points, now 11 points out.
Rank) Car#-Driver/Team, owners pts, +/-
29) #38-Gilliland/Front Row, 126, +34
30) #34-Ragan/Front Row, 123, +33
31) #93-Kvapil/BK Racing, 122, +32
32) #32-Sorenson/FAS Lane Racing, 120, +30
33) #36-Blaney/Baldwin, 111, +21
34) #10-Reutimann-Patrick/Baldwin, 109, +19
35) #83-Cassill/BK Racing, 101, 11 ahead of 36th
these teams / drivers will need to qualify by speed:
36) #33-TBA/Childress, 90, -11 from the top 35
37) #49-Yeley/Robinson. 73, -28
38) #30-Stremme/Inception, 69, -32
The teams are NOT locked in past the next race as the owners points change after each race.
For the owner points standings, see the Owners Points Standings page (pdf).(4-22-2012)

2012 Sprint Cup Driver Championship Points Standings:
[after Kansas, race 8 of 36]
1) #16-Greg Biffle [1 win], 312
2) #56-Martin Truex Jr. [0 wins], 297, -15
3) #17-Matt Kenseth [1 win], 295, -17
4) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. [0 wins], 291, -21
5) #11-Denny Hamlin [2 wins], 289, -23
6) #29-Kevin Harvick [0 wins], 287, -25
7) #48-Jimmie Johnson [0 wins], 275, -37
8) #14-Tony Stewart [2 wins], 265, -47
9) #99-Carl Edwards [0 wins], 251, -61
10) #39-Ryan Newman [1 win], 249, -63
Chase wild card drivers:
11) #2-Brad Keselowski [1 win, 15th in points], 217, -95
12) #15-Clint Bowyer [0 wins, 11th in pts], 227, -85
(ties broken by 1sts, 2nds, 3rd, etc)
See drivers championship points standings on the Drivers Points Standings page (pdf).(4-22-2012)

Chassis selections for the Richmond 400: see the list of many teams and what chassis were selected by the team to run at Richmond International Raceway:
MISSING? why are some teams missing? like the #11, #24 or others? those teams do not report what chassis in the race previews or prs.
#1-Jamie McMurray: Crew Chief Kevin "Bono" Manion and the No. 1 McDonald's team will bring Chassis #1206 to Richmond International Raceway this weekend. This chassis first saw track time this year at Phoenix International Raceway, leading one lap before retiring from the race due to an engine failure.
#5-Kasey Kahne: For Saturday's race, crew chief Kenny Francis will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-663. Kahne started 10th in this car at Phoenix International Raceway in March before an early incident sent him to the garage for repairs. Kahne finished that event 34th. The No. 5 team also raced the car four times in 2011 with driver Mark Martin notably collecting a top-10 finish at Richmond in September.
#9-Marcos Ambrose: The #9 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 805 for this weekend's race at Richmond International Raceway. This Stanley Ford was run previously this season at Phoenix.
#10-David Reutimann: will pilot the No. 297 chassis, which he also drove at Phoenix International Raceway and Martinsville Speedway this season. TBR debuted chassis No. 297 with Blaney at Texas Motor Speedway in November 2011. Blaney also piloted the chassis at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the 2011 NSCS Season Finale where he finished 28th. TBR purchased the chassis from Richard Childress Racing during the 2011 season.
#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-710: This is a brand-new racecar that has never turned a wheel on the racetrack, but it has seen numerous hours in the wind tunnel. The Capital City 400 marks Chassis No. 14-710's on-track debut.
#15-Clint Bowyer: will race chassis No. 712 at Richmond. Bowyer finished 30th with No. 712 in Phoenix after struggling with multiple cut tires early in the race. Chassis No. 718 will serve as the backup and previously served as backup at Phoenix and Bristol but never raced.
#16-Greg Biffle: Primary: RK-778 Last ran Phoenix - finished third; Backup: RK-759 Last ran Phoenix in '11 as the No. 6 - finished 33rd
#17-Matt Kenseth: Primary: RK-802 (Last run at Bristol)
#22-A.J. Allmendinger: and his Todd Gordon-led Penske Racing #22 Team will be racing their "PRS-808" Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Charger this weekend at Richmond. The team raced the car earlier this season at Phoenix. In that race Dinger started 15th and was involved in an early-race incident that tore the entire back deck lid off the car. He was able to salvage an 18th-place finish out of the day. The "PRS-807" is the backup Dodge Charger for the "Double-Deuce" team. It was in the transporter serving as the backup at Phoenix, Bristol and Martinsville, but has never seen any track time to date.
#27-Paul Menard: will pilot Chassis No. 380 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This No. 27 Chevrolet is a brand new addition to the RCR fleet and will log its first laps during Friday's practice session.
#29-Kevin Harvick: will pilot Chassis No. 365 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This chassis was used by the No. 33 RCR team during the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season, and Harvick most recently drove it to a second-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway in March.
#31-Jeff Burton: will race chassis No. 367 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This No. 31 Chevrolet, built new for the 2012 season, was utilized in February at Phoenix International Raceway where engine issues thwarted Burton's top-five run and relegated him to a 33rd-place finish.
#36-Dave Blaney: will drive the No. 293 chassis, which he drove five times during the 2011 season and once this season. The Harford, Ohio native's best start with the No. 293 chassis was 22nd at New Hampshire last fall and best finish was 23rd this season at Phoenix. TBR purchased the chassis from Richard Childress Racing, where Jeff Burton drove the chassis prior to its debut with TBR.
#39-Ryan Newman: Chassis No. 39-719: Chassis No. 39-719 will turn its first laps on a racetrack with practice on Friday at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. The new chassis for Newman has been to the wind tunnel in recent weeks and will make its first start this weekend.
#42-Juan Pablo Montoya: Crew Chief Chris Heroy and the No. 42 Target team will bring Chassis #1203 to Richmond International Raceway this weekend. This chassis made its debut this year at Phoenix International Raceway, finishing 11th.
#43-Aric Almirola:: The #43 Smithfield Ford will be chassis number 804. This is the same chassis the team ran at Phoenix earlier this year.
#48-Jimmie Johnson:: Chassis No. 715 is a new chassis and serves as the primary for Johnson at Richmond. Chassis No. 689 serves as the backup.
#51-Kurt Busch: Chassis No. 662: This weekend's Richmond 400 will be the second race of the 2012 season for this chassis. This is the same car the #51 Phoenix Racing team competed with at Phoenix International Raceway in March. Busch started 19th and led two laps en route to a 15th-place finish. This car was built in June 2011 and used by the No. 51 Phoenix Racing team a handful of times last season. Landon Cassill finished 29th at Phoenix in chassis No. 662 in November 2011. The car was also used in events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon in July and September 2011, scoring 26th- and 30th-place finishes, respectively.
#88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: This weekend, crew chief Steve Letarte will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-709. Earnhardt last raced this chassis to a 14th-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway in March.
#99-Carl Edwards: The No. 99 team will be bringing chassis RK-801 to Richmond this weekend. This was a brand new chassis at Phoenix in March when Edwards finished 17th after running out of fuel on the final lap.
(from team PR's/sites if reported)(4-27-2012)

Tire:
Goodyear Eagle Intermediate Radials

Number of Tires: Sprint Cup:
Left-side -- 1,300, Right-side -- 1,300

Set limits: Sprint Cup:
5 sets for practice/qualifying and 11 sets for the race

Tire Codes:
Left-side -- D-4416; Right-side -- D-4432

Tire Circumference:
Left-side -- 87.4 in. (2,220 mm);
Right-side -- 88.6 in. (2,250 mm)

Technical Inspection Inflation:
Left Front -- 20 psi; Left Rear -- 20 psi;
Right Front -- 30 psi; Right Rear -- 30 psi

Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front -- 12 psi; Left Rear -- 12 psi;
Right Front -- 30 psi; Right Rear -- 27 psi

Notes: Teams in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series will run the same tire codes at Richmond this weekend . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that teams in both series ran at both Richmond and New Hampshire last season . . . as on most NASCAR ovals one mile or less in length, teams will not run inner liners in their tires at Richmond.