Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), finished 30^th in the Federated Auto Parts 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Saturday night at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

Patrick, who started 36^th, never could get the car to her liking during the race.

“It just wasn’t our night,” said Patrick, who made her 36^th Sprint Cup start and her second at Richmond. “We just didn’t get it right. Tony Gibson (crew chief) and the GoDaddy guys never gave up and worked hard all weekend. There are nights that you just know it’s not going to go your way, and this was one of those nights. We’ve been making gains in recent weeks, but tonight was tough. The important thing is for me and the guys to forget about it and move onto Chicago and look to get better.”

Patrick, who is competing for Rookie of the Year honors against Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished 20 spots behind Stenhouse, who placed 10^th for his first career top-10. She remained 27^th in the standings with 473 points.

Patrick’s teammate, Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS, finished third in the Federated Auto Parts 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Newman led four laps before scoring his sixth top-five of 2013 and his sixth top-five in 24 career Sprint Cup starts at Richmond.

The third member of SHR, Mark Martin, finished ninth as he subs for the injured Tony Stewart as the interim driver of SHR’s No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS. It was Martin’s 31^st top-10 in 56 career Sprint Cup starts at the .75-mile oval.

Carl Edwards won the Federated Auto Parts 400 to score his 21^st career Sprint Cup victory, his second of the season and his first at Richmond.

Kurt Busch finished .668 of a second behind Edwards in the runner-up spot, while Newman, Jamie McMurray and Paul Menard rounded out the top-five. Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon, Martin and Stenhouse comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were five caution periods for 29 laps, with three drivers failing to finish the 400-lap race.

Richmond marked the last race of the regular season, as the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins.

The top-10 drivers in points are eligible to compete in the Chase, along with two wild-card drivers – Kasey Kahne and Truex – who were admitted to the Chase field by having the most wins among the drivers who were between 11^th and 20^th in the standings. NASCAR recalibrated the points for the 12 drivers as soon as the Richmond race was over, with each driver getting 2,000 points. With the exception of wild-card entrants Kahne and Truex, drivers also received three bonus points for each of their respective wins during the 26-race regular season. For drivers starting the Chase with identical point totals, their seed was determined by the traditional tiebreaker of best finishes beyond race victories.

Newman just missed the Chase, as his third-place finish in the Federated Auto Parts 400 put him in a tie with Truex for the second and final wild-card spot. But Truex won the tiebreaker as he had more second-place finishes than Newman.

TSC PR

Mark Martin, driving in place of the injured Tony Stewart, rallied to a strong ninth-place finish in the Federated Auto Parts 400 Saturday night at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

With a Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS that was loose into the corners, tight in the middle and loose off the corners, Martin had his hands full. He dropped from his 16^th-place starting spot and went a lap down before the halfway mark of the 400-lap race around the .75-mile oval.

But Martin and crew chief Steve Addington stayed the course, earning their lap back when a timely caution came out on lap 208. From there, the duo continuously worked on the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 machine. A savvy call by Addington to take only two tires on the final pit stop during a caution period on lap 395 placed Martin third for the three-lap shootout to the finish.

Martin manhandled his still imperfect racecar around the D-shaped layout for the final three laps, crossing the stripe in ninth to earn his first top-10 with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) and his 31^st top-10 in 56 career Sprint Cup starts at Richmond.

“Really proud of all the guys on this Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 team,” Martin said. “They improved the car throughout the race and made some great calls. We got our first top-10 together. We’ll take that and build on it.”

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet for SHR, finished third to score his sixth top-five of 2013 and his sixth top-five in 24 career Sprint Cup starts at Richmond.

Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet SS for SHR, finished 30^th in her 36^th career Sprint Cup start and her second at Richmond. Patrick, who is competing for Rookie of the Year honors against Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished 20 spots behind Stenhouse, who placed 10^th for his first career top-10.

Carl Edwards won the Federated Auto Parts 400 to score his 21^st career Sprint Cup victory, his second of the season and his first at Richmond.

Kurt Busch finished .668 of a second behind Edwards in the runner-up spot, while Newman, Jamie McMurray and Paul Menard rounded out the top-five. Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon, Martin and Stenhouse comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were five caution periods for 29 laps, with three drivers failing to finish the 400-lap race.

Richmond marked the last race of the regular season, as the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins.

The top-10 drivers in points are eligible to compete in the Chase, along with two wild-card drivers – Kasey Kahne and Truex – who were admitted to the Chase field by having the most wins among the drivers who were between 11^th and 20^th in the standings. NASCAR recalibrated the points for the 12 drivers as soon as the Richmond race was over, with each driver getting 2,000 points. With the exception of wild-card entrants Kahne and Truex, drivers also received three bonus points for each of their respective wins during the 26-race regular season. For drivers starting the Chase with identical point totals, their seed was determined by the traditional tiebreaker of best finishes beyond race victories.

Newman just missed the Chase, as his third-place finish in the Federated Auto Parts 400 put him in a tie with Truex for the second and final wild-card spot. But Truex won the tiebreaker as he had more second-place finishes than Newman.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule – the first race of the Chase – is the Geico 400 on Sept. 15 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with a pre-race show at 1 p.m.

TSC PR

Roush Fenway turned in its most impressive performance of the 2013 season in the Sprint Cup ‘regular season’ finale Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. Carl Edwards led 46 laps en route to his second win of the season; taking the Sprint Cup points lead in his stride.

Greg Biffle secured his sixth career ‘Chase’ entry with a solid run and 12^th-place finish, and RFR rookie Ricky Stenhouse Jr. capped off the night with the team’s first top-10 finish of the season.

The win is Roush Fenway's fifth in the Sprint Cup Series at Richmond and its 15th overall NASCAR win at the track. Edwards is the fifth RFR driver to win in the Cup series at RIR and adds the accomplishment to his three NNS wins at the track. 

For RFR it marks the 10^th time in 10 seasons of the Chase the team has placed multiple entries inside the Sprint Cup ‘playoff’ field. It marks the seventh time that Edwards has made the Chase field in his career. RFR placed a record five of 10 entries inside the 2005 Chase, including both Edwards and Biffle. 

RFR has finished runner up in the Chase on two occasions, including two seasons ago when Edwards finished tied for the series’ championship.

It also marks the third straight season that RFR has led the Sprint Cup point standings at the culmination of the 26-event race for the Chase. 

The Chase kicks off next week at Chicagoland Speedway.  Once the field is reset for the Chase, Edwards will be seeded fifth (-9), while Biffle will start seventh (-12 ).

RFR PR

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion – CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR EMOTIONS RIGHT NOW? “I don’t really have any emotions right now. We weren’t good enough to make it and we didn’t. That is the reality.”  TAKE US THROUGH HOW YOUR RACE UNFOLDED TONIGHT. “We were pretty good at the start and led a lot of laps. I think we led the most laps but we just weren’t strong enough to really stay up there. We needed clean air to really run well and once we lost that we just weren’t strong enough.”  WE HEARD YOU ON THE RADIO TALKING TO YOUR GUYS AND SAYING YOU NEEDED TO SWING FOR THE FENCES. WHAT IS THAT LIKE IN THE MOMENT WHEN YOU KNOW YOU HAVE A CAR THAT IS CAPABLE OF WINNING THE RACE AND IT STARTS TO WANE ON YOU A BIT? “Yeah, that is just the way our cars have been this year. They haven’t been good enough and we haven’t executed as well as we neeced to. We have work to do. At the end of the day, the thing about points is it is the best measuring stick in sports. You know who deserves to be where because the results speak for themselves. We didn’t have enough results to get where we needed to be.”  HOW CLOSE WERE YOU AT THE END OF THAT RACE TO THE 15? THERE WAS SOME QUESTION AS TO IF CLINT MIGHT HAVE SPUN HIMSELF ON PURPOSE. “No, I couldn’t tell you that. I didn’t see it.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion –  “Well, we are in. If feels great. Man, what a terrible race though. We were hanging on the whole time. I didn’t know where we were and everytime I asked where we stood and they didn’t answer me. I thought that wasn’t good if they weren’t answering me. It feels good to put one of these Chase hats on and we can regroup and go for a championship now. It feels good. It has been a lot of years I have been trying to get into the Chase. It is a big accomplishment. Once you are in doesn’t mean you are done. I want to try to go for it. I have 100-percent confidence in this team to make it happen. We are going to forget about tonights finish and make the most of this Chase.”  YOU ARE ONE OF THE SEXY PICKS TO WIN THIS THING. DO YOU FEEL YOU ARE A PICK TO WIN THIS THING? “Oh yeah. We can win this thing. We just have to run better than what we did tonight.” THE FLIP SIDE IS YOUR TEAMMATE BRAD KESELOWSKI FINDS HIMSELF NOT IN THE CHASE. “Yeah, that is tough. Brad has had fast cars. It is so hard to make this Chase. We both went through a lot this season of having bad finishes and fast race cars. It feels good to get in it but I know what he is going through right now and it is tough. He is a champion though and he will get through it. If anyone things he is going to run over and die they are crazy. He will win some races for sure.” HOW DOES IT FEEL TO GET IN?  “It feels really good after having such a rough night.  The car was really struggling all night.  I kept asking Todd where we were, if we were good or bad and he never really answered me, so I was thinking, ‘I don’t think that’s good.’  Thank God for that last caution, I guess.  I think we were out before that, so we’ve got to forget this finish tonight and reset our goals for the championship and try to get this Shell/Pennzoil Ford a championship.  This team is capable of doing it.  Thank God we’re not ever coming back to Richmond until next year and we’ve got to score some points and score some wins now.”  OVER THE LAST 6 OR 7 WEEKS YOU HAVE BEEN STRONG.  HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU FOR THE CHASE?  “I’m encouraged for sure.  All of our finishes leading up to this race were really, really good.  I feel like we were the hottest team in NASCAR coming into this race, so we’re not gonna let this kill our momentum.  We’re gonna take this momentum we have getting into the Chase and let ‘er rip and have some fun.”

ROGER PENSKE, OWNER, No. 22 Shell Penzoil Ford Fusion – YOUR THOUGHTS ON JOEY MAKING THE CHASE. “First I have to thank Carl Edwards for winning that race. That made a huge difference there at the end because if Newman would have won we would have been out. Joey persevered all season and I guess when he had those couple DNF’s that tonight was something in our favor. We just thank the Dear Lord and everyone for taking care of us tonight and giving us a safe race. We are in the Chase. That is what we came here for. Now we start all over again.”  THE FLIP SIDE IS BRAD DOES NOT MAKE THE CHASE. “Brad has done such a great job and as I told him today before the race, I said that we might not get in but it is like business, you will have some good months and bad months but we have a great company. He has done a great job for us with what he is doing on the Nationwide side as well. He deserved better than he got and I think we let him down a couple of times but overall he is a class guy and a great guy to have on the team and I need to thank him for getting us Joey Logano.”

GREG BIFFLE, No. 16 Scotchgard Ford Fusion – “I feel really good right now. I gave up there at the end. Those guys were going crazy. I wish I would have gotten a top-five finish out of that. I don’t even know where I finished. I am happy for Carl and we worked hard all night. We had a great car. I just couldn’t get it right getting into one and as the speed started picking up I started getting worse. I just could never get it right getting into one down there.” IT’S BEEN AN UP AND DOWN YEAR FOR YOU. NOW THAT YOU ARE IN THE CHASE, HOW DO YOU FEEL GOING FORWARD? “We feel good. Look at how we ran here tonight. Man, if our Chase looks like that, we are right where we need to be. I am happy about that.”

CARL EDWARDS, No. 99 Kellogg’s/Cheeze-It Ford Fusion – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – “That’s my pit crew that won this race for us.  It was just an awesome job by them.  It’s so cool to put Kellogg’s in Victory Lane – Kellogg’s, Fastenal, Ford, Subway, Aflac, The Geek Squad, UPS, Sprint – all the fans, Wiley X, everybody who has been behind us all year, especially my fans.  It was up at the beginning with Jimmy and our new team, and then we struggled for a little while, but the last three weeks have been great.  We’ve led a bunch of laps and have had fast race cars and we’re having fun.  Thanks to Jack Roush.  We got Greg Biffle in the Chase.  We got Ford to Victory Lane and I’ve just got to thank New Holland and Cesna also.  They give me a lot of support through the year, but this is really cool.  I’m sure I haven’t won a race here in the Cup car, so it’s a big night for us.”  HOW STRONG CAN YOU BE IN THE CHASE?  “We’re gonna win the championship.  That’s our mission.  That seemed like a crazy idea about a month-and-a-half ago, but Jimmy and these guys have buckled down.  Everybody back at the shop, all the guys building these race cars, all of our Ford teammates – Brad, Joey and all the Penske guys – everybody has rallied together.  I can’t say enough about Robbie Reiser, Bob Osborne, Chip Bolin, all the guys at the shop.  We’ve got two guys in the Chase.  We’ve got Ricky Stenhouse, who had an awesome night tonight, but this championship would mean the world to me.  The next 10 weeks, we’re gonna be on them hard.  They’re gonna know we’re here.”

Ford Racing PR

After Finishing 22^nd last weekend in Atlanta, Mike Bliss and his crew welcomed another prime time event on Friday night at the ¾ mile of Richmond International Raceway.

Within the first few laps Bliss was quick to radio that his No. 19 Toyota Camry was "really really snappy Loose."  The event's first caution fell on lap 14 for debris. Bliss and Crew Chief Paul Clapprood opted to stay out and utilize their track position.

By lap 50 Bliss gained a few spots on the track and was running in the 22^nd position despite his Toyota Camry being "tight in and loose off on exit."

Bliss and Clapprood were able to make their anticipated adjustments during the events second caution. The 19 crew put four scuff tires on, pulled a spring rubber and made a track bar and air pressure adjustment.  Gaining two positions from a fast pit stop, Bliss restarted 19^th.

Numerous adjustments were made throughout the event's seven cautions, but nothing really satisfied Bliss' Camry.

Capitalizing on the final caution in the 1,000^th NASCAR Nationwide Series race, Bliss was able to advance two positions to finish 18^th.

Mike Bliss' post race remarks:

"The car was really tight all night. Every time I went to get on the throttle, it would snap loose on me. We tried everything we could think of to help the balance of the car, but not much worked. My crew worked really hard and gave me really great pit stops." - Mike Bliss

TMI PR

Federated Auto Parts will return to Richmond International Racewayfor many more NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at America’s Premier Short Track. The partnership began last year with the inaugural Federated Auto Parts 400, and today both parties announced an extension that will keep the Virginia-based auto parts distributor’s name on the traditional September NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race for future seasons.

In addition to its contract extension, Federated Auto Parts, which hosts nearly 2,000 guests in hospitality and suites on race weekends at RIR, remains the Official Auto Parts Supplier of Richmond International Raceway.

“All of us at Federated Auto Parts are proud to extend our relationship with Richmond International Raceway and its premier spot on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule,” said Rusty Bishop, CEO of Federated Auto Parts.  “Our members and their customers love the fun-filled activities and hospitality provided at RIR, providing our partners with lasting memories. We are ready to continue the memory-making process with tonight’s Federated Auto Parts 400, a race we expect to be unforgettable, as drivers try to race their way into The Chase tonight.”

“I can’t tell you how excited the Richmond International Raceway team is to share in this announcement,” said RIR President Dennis Bickmeier. “We added Federated Auto Parts to a growing list of Virginia-based companies last year, and knowing they’ll be part of our family solidifies our partnership for years to come. There’s no better way to celebrate this announcement than by hosting an amazing Federated Auto Parts 400 tonight, under the lights, at America’s Premier Short Track.”

Federated Auto Parts is no stranger to NASCAR.  Now in its 18^th year in the sport, Federated has served as the primary sponsor for Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace, as well as the entitlement partner at Nashville Superspeedway, prior to joining RIR as the entitlement sponsor of “One Last Race to Make The Chase.”

Tonight’s Federated Auto Parts 400 marks “One Last Race to Make The Chase.” Five spots remain in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, but 10 drivers are eligible to race their way in. Be here to see Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman and many more battle it out “under the lights” at 7:30 p.m.

RIR PR

RAB Racing and the No. 99 ToyotaCare Camry driven by rookie of the year contender Alex Bowman made just their second career start at Richmond International Raceway, and attempted to shake off their recent bad luck streak. Bowman who had a top 10 run going in April at Richmond only to be dashed by a blown tire, came back looking for redemption. The No. 99 ToyotaCare Camry qualified in the 6th position and never gave up through adversity to finish in the 15th position.

The green flag flew on the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 and Bowman was able to stay in the top 10 in the early stages, but began fighting a loose race car. The loose condition became worse through multiple green flag runs and halfway through the 250 lap race was mired back in traffic in the 18th position. The No. 99 ToyotaCare crew never gave up, and with less than 100 laps to go crew chief Chris Rice made a bold decision and made several changes to the car under a yellow flag pit stop. This was exactly what Bowman needed, as the extra time in the pits relegated him to restarting in 17th position, but within just a few laps found himself in the 11th position chasing down the top 10. With only 16 laps to go the field saw its first of three wild restarts to conclude the Virginia 529 College Savings 250, but Bowman sustained heavy right side and rear damage from a three wide altercation. From that point on, the car No. 99 ToyotaCare Camry just didn't have the same handling characteristics, coupled with being in the wrong place at the wrong time in the two remaining restarts, Bowman finished in the 15th position. The 15th place finish was the team's 14th top 15 finish out of the 25 race season so far.

Alex Bowman: "Talk about never giving up, I've really got it hand it to my RAB Racing crew and my crew chief Chris Rice. We were just about dead in the water, and none our adjustments through the first half of the race seemed to be making a difference, but just like so many other races this year, my crew chief came to the rescue. We took a pretty big swing at tightening the car up and it was definitely the right call, it was almost a completely different car from then on until the last few restarts at the end of the race. The restart where we passed a bunch of cars in 5 laps was a ton of fun, true short track racing at its finest with fighting for every available inch of real estate. One of the last restarts with 16 laps to go we were in the middle three wide and there just wasn't enough room for all three of us on the entry into the corner and our car sustained a good amount of damage on the right side and rear bumper, it completely changed the feel and balance of the car so we. Got passed by a few cars in the closing laps. We will take this finish and move on to Chicago where RAB Racing and Toyota are always contenders, I'm extremely excited to get back to a mile and a half racetrack."

The 15th place finish allowed Bowman to hold on to the 11th place in driver point standings and Robby Benton stayed in the 16th position in owner point standings. The next race on the NASCAR Nationwide Series Schedule is the Dollar General 300 at the Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday, September 14th and will be televised live on ESPN2.

RAB Racing PR

RAB Racing and the No. 29 American Ethanol Toyota Camry driven by veteran Kenny Wallace came into Richmond International Raceway with history on their mind. Wallace made his 898th NASCAR start on a night where the NASCAR Nationwide Series celebrated its 1000th race.  It was also the first race where both RAB Racing Toyota Camry's qualified in the top 10, with Alex Bowman qualifying in 6th and Wallace in the 10th position.

The green flag flew on the Virginia 529 College Savings 250, and Wallace immediately began fighting a loose race car, struggling to find forward grip exiting corners.  Wallace dropped back to the 21st position by lap 76 when the yellow flag flew for a debris caution.  Crew chief Keith Hinkein had a plan and began working on the No. 29 American Ethanol Toyota Camry by making several adjustments, and chasing the changing track conditions.  Over the course of the next 50 laps, Wallace utilized the experience from his 36 previous Nationwide starts at Richmond to his advantage and climbed from 21st to 14th position, telling the team his car was perfect.  After multiple late race cautions, on track incidents, and wild restarts the No. 29 American Ethanol Toyota Camry finished in the 17th position.

Kenny Wallace: "What an exciting and up and down race we had tonight. From the beginning of the race we were just too loose to be able to run good lap times, so we lost a lot of positions, but in hindsight it made me start conserving my equipment and brakes which helped at the end of the race. My crew chief Keith Hinkein made a great call on the pitbox and we fixed our loose condition to become a top 10 race car. From about halfway we just struggled with track position, lost a few spots on pit road and was in the wrong place at the wrong time on those crazy final restarts and that knocked us down to 17th. It was a lot of fun, but I need to thank American Ethanol and all the farmers that made it possible for me to race at Richmond and get my 898th career NASCAR start."

RAB Racing PR