Brian Vickers figures he’ll need a strong showing in tonight’s Crown Royal Presents Russell Friedman 400 to prove he’s a legitimate contender to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Vickers got most everyone’s attention yesterday by capturing the pole at Richmond International Raceway for the first time in five years. He posted a speed of 127.131 mph to share the front row with four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon, who qualified second with a 126.844.

RIR RACE WEEK
  7: Sprint Cup driver introductions
  7:30: Sprint Cup Series Crown Royal Presents The Russ Friedman 400

Here’s another reason for casual fans to like the racing at RIR: Chances are a big-name driver is going to win tonight. Last week’s race at Talladega produced first-time winner Brad Keselowski, a result of wide-open racing that isn’t found at Richmond, which produces a higher reliance on driver skill, instead of having a fast car. “On short tracks, the drivers can make up more of what their car doesn’t have,“ Denny Hamlin said yesterday. “To me, I think this is more of a driver’s race track, like Martinsville. I think that’s why you see the guys who have won championships run so well at these short tracks.“

NASCAR-Sprint Cup-Russ Friedman 400 Lineup

Fox Sports maintains a healthy optimism about tonight’s race and its TV potential. Just don’t mention the R-word. Rain is the enemy at the network, which expects more than 7 million people to tune in for a portion of the Crown Royal Presents Russell Friedman 400. A postponed race could cut that number by as much as half. RIR is a popular stop for the network, one it badly needs right now. According to Sports Business Journal, the last nine races have suffered double-digit drops from their 2008 ratings. That’s not uncommon—ratings for most shows are down across the board, and attendance is also down at tracks.

They aren’t quite the Hatfields and McCoys, but Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. aren’t exactly fishing buddies, either. Their relationship is more akin to that of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. They simply tolerate one another.

Well, tonight is the race and we are starting 31st. We weren’t too thrilled with that. The car got loose and we just didn’t get as good a time as we thought we would, but Richmond is a 400-lap race so if we can get our PVA.Org “Kings Cup Karting for a Cause” Dodge working like we want then we will be fine. What I am really saying is our starting spot doesn’t really matter. We spent a lot of time working on our race setup so I feel pretty good for tonight.

Something has been lost amid the uproar of Carl Edwards going airborne near the finish line at Talladega Superspeedway. Something has been forgotten in the ensuing debate over restrictor-plate racing, track safety, who was at fault and Dale Earnhardt Jr.—Junior! Little E!—NASCAR’s most popular driver, who finished second. Brad Keselowski won at Talladega.

NATIONWIDE SERIES REPORT

NASCAR-Nationwide-Lipton Tea 250 Results

TRACK TALK Correspondent Shawn Fenner asked fans the following: In light of what happened last week at Talladega with Carl Edwards’ last-lap wreck and injuries suffered by fans, are you concerned for your safety at tracks like RIR? “No, I think that was a freak accident. At Talladega they travel at much higher speeds. I’ve seen bad wrecks here, but. . . . They really patrol, and here people are away from the fences.“ TONYA CLEVELAND, VERONA “No, I don’t think that’s going to happen here. Why? Speeds don’t get that fast here.“ MIKE GRUSEMEYER, MILLVILLE, NEW JERSEY “No, not at all. I think it’s a very rare thing. I think they do everything they can to make it safe.“ DONNA JOHNSON, MECHANICSVILLE “NASCAR does a smart job. They do the best they can. That was unforeseen . . . It hadn’t happened in like 20 years. I feel safe here . . . I’ve been coming here since I was a teenager.“ DARRELL CLOWERS, RICHMOND “Not concerned about my safety. I feel pretty good about it.“ NATHAN JOHNSON, BOWIE, MD. “NASCAR does a great job building a fence barrier.“ ALLEN HOFFMAN, CHARLOTTESVILLE

After having its 33-race sellout streak snapped last September at Richmond International Raceway because of Tropical Storm Hanna, tonight’s Crown Royal Presents Russ Friedman 400 isn’t expected to sell out, either. But racetrack officials knew a sellout would be an ambitious goal considering the economic downturn. “Although we did experience soft ticket sales earlier this year - due mainly to the economic conditions - we have seen a tremendous increase in purchases over the past several weeks,“ RIR President Doug Fritz said. “We expect an enormous crowd of faithful fans and we will again host the largest spectator sporting event in Virginia.“

Notch another victory for Kyle Busch in his rivalry with Carl Edwards. Busch gave the crowd a show last night in the Lipton Tea 250 by outgunning Edwards on a pair of late restarts. It was an aggressively fought final 50 laps, though nowhere near as contentious as the two rivals had raced this was a gentlemanly performance compared with their dual at Bristol in 2008.

Matt Kenseth , Kevin Harvick , Carl Ed wards and Joey Logano will appear at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Green Flag Zone, which is open from 2 to 6:30 p.m. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Green Flag Zone also includes appearances by driver and TV personality Hermie Sadler , the namesake of the race Russ Friedman and track president Doug Fritz . Admission to today’s Scotts Miracle-Gro Green Flag Zone is $90 and available to ticket holders for the Crown Royal Presents The Russ Friedman 400. Fans must have a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race ticket to purchase the package.

Carl Edwards insists that safety issues at Talladega Superspeedway must be addressed after he survived a violent crash on the final lap Sunday. He seems relatively satisfied after meeting earlier this week with NASCAR officials. Even though he holds firm that change is necessary at Talladega, Edwards laughed it off yesterday before qualifying for the Crown Royal Presents Russell Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway.