NASCAR NNCS (RICHMOND) - RACE ADVANCE

The final race of the regular season – race number 26 at Richmond International Raceway – has always been the stuff of screenplays.

Last year, Kasey Kahne squeezed into the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and defending series champion Tony Stewart got knocked out.

The question: Can the improbable happen again?

Can Dale Earnhardt Jr. brush away a 128-point deficit to 12th-place Kevin Harvick in a single race?

For Earnhardt to accomplish the feat, a number of scenarios can play out. But in its simplest form: If Earnhardt wins and leads the most laps, he’ll need Harvick to finish 33rd and he’s in the Chase.

This is one of Earnhardt’s favorite tracks. But, the same can be said for Harvick.

Earnhardt’s last win came here – he has three overall at Richmond – and he has some robust stats at the .75-mile track: a Driver Rating of 89.9 and 74 Fastest Laps Run over the last five Richmond races.

Harvick, on the other hand, is a Richmond master.

He’s the defending champion of this race and seemingly always runs up front. Harvick holds the top spot in the following Richmond statistics over the past five races there: Driver Rating (125.4), Average Running Position (4.6), Fastest Laps Run (250), Average Green Flag Speed and Laps in the Top 15 (1,924 – 96%).

Also worth noting: With his win at California, Jimmie Johnson captured the bonus points lead. With his five wins on the season, he now has 50 bonus points toward his Chase run. He can clinch the top spot with a win this weekend – which would also give him the season sweep of Richmond.