Benny Parsons

Kevin Harvick, who didn't win but dominated the first Nextel Cup race of the season at Richmond International Raceway in May, is my pick to get to Victory Lane on Saturday night at the Virginia short track.

Working in Harvick's favor
In the spring event at Richmond, Harvick led for 272 of the 400 laps, and he had by far the best car until about the final 50 miles of the race. In the end running on a set of older tires took away his chance at a win and he finished third.

Harvick will be in the same chassis that fared so well at Richmond earlier this year. It's a car that was built for one-mile type tracks, and it has proven its worth on such layouts as Harvick drove it to Victory Lane at the one-mile Phoenix International Raceway in April.

Richmond is a .75-mile oval and its to Harvick's liking as he races well on short tracks. At Richmond he has one pole, three top-fives and five top-10s in 11 Cup starts.

Last year he posted a pair of top-10s at the Virginia venue, and was extremely impressive in the fall race when won the pole and led for 167 laps before handling issues arose with his car, resulting in a 10th-place finish.

The Richard Childress driver has led in six of his 11 races at Richmond, where he has an average finish of 14th.

Harvick's in third place in the championship standings, so barring a disastrous night on Saturday, he'll be in the Chase for the Nextel Cup championship, which begins on Sept. 17 at New Hampshire International Speedway.

He only needs to finish 39th or better at Richmond to clinch a spot in the Chase.

Other drivers to watch
Denny Hamlin, who is trying to become the first rookie to qualify for the Chase, finished second in May at Richmond.

The Joe Gibbs racer can clinch a spot in the Chase by crossing the checkers 16th or better at Richmond. And while this is only the second Cup start for the rookie at Richmond, from what we saw in his first run at this venue, he might be a quite a story on Saturday night.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won in May at Richmond, and I think he has a good shot at making it a sweep on Saturday night. Junior is sixth in the championship standings, and he can lock up a spot in the Chase by finishing 16th or better at Richmond.

This is Junior's 15th Cup start at Richmond, where he has chalked up three wins and nine top-10 finishes. He has been running at the finish in all of his Richmond races, and has led in eight of them.

Kyle Busch has a short but impressive Cup resume at Richmond. This is Busch's fourth Cup start at the .75-mile oval, where he has come home in the top five in each of his previous races.

He has led in two of his three Richmond races, but for just 14 laps. Busch placed fourth in this race last year, and he was fifth at Richmond in May. At this short track, Busch has an average finish of 4.3. -- the best among the current top-10 drivers.

Busch, who is fifth in the championship standings, can clinch a berth in the Chase with a result of 22nd or better at Richmond.

Look out for Tony Stewart on Saturday night. This is the defending Cup champion's 16th start at Richmond, where he has three wins and 10 top-10 finishes. Stewart's last Richmond victory came in May of 2002.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver placed seventh in this race last year, and he was sixth at Richmond in May, extending a streak of three straight top-10 finishes at this short track, where his average result is 11.6.

Since Stewart is eighth in the championship standings, he -- and actually all of the drivers from third through 11th in the standings -- will be more concerned about points racing than winning this event.

Stewart clinches a Chase spot by crossing the checkers seventh or better at Richmond, but he will be in a backup car after crashing in the opening moments of practice on Friday.

Richmond has been a good track for Mark Martin in his long Cup career. He only has one win at the .75-mile oval, but he's enjoyed a lot of good runs in Virginia, logging 22 top-10s in 41 career Richmond Cup starts.

Martin finished 13th in this race last year, and he was 11th at Richmond in May. At this short track, Martin has an average finish of 11th.

He's ninth in the championship standings, and clinches a place in the Chase with a finish of fourth or better on Saturday night.