Drivers out of title chase still find incentives

Many feel Saturday's race is a chance for them to steal some thunder.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Don't feel sorry for the drivers who won't make it into NASCAR's new 10-man, 10-race championship shootout. They don't.
Going into Saturday night's race at Richmond, the drivers 11th through 15th in the points standings still have at least a mathematical chance to be among those who compete for the season title -- and the big payoffs -- beginning the following week at Loudon, N.H.
But that doesn't mean the rest of the field lacks incentive.
"Those of us who aren't in it are really going to be able to take advantage of the situation," said Scott Riggs, 29th in the standings after a seventh-place finish last Sunday at California Speedway. "A lot of the teams in the top 10 are going to have to tiptoe around out there. They want to stay out of trouble and not get caught in someone else's mess.
"Then there are teams like ours, who can go out, be aggressive and drive as hard as we need to in order to improve and learn from that week and try to build momentum for next year."
Trying to build momentum
Veteran racer Jeff Burton, who recently switched teams -- moving to Richard Childress Racing from Roush Racing -- is in much the same situation as Riggs.
Burton is 18th in points, mathematically eliminated from the top 10 but trying hard to build momentum with his new team before the end of the season.
So how does Burton approach Richmond?
"Just like a normal race," Burton said. "We try to race the people that are in the championship hunt with respect -- which we would do anyway. We try not to cause any wrecks -- which we would do anyway.
"So we really just go to Richmond to race, do the best we can and pay attention to what we are doing, not what everyone else is doing."
Matt Kenseth's runaway championship last year was the last straw for NASCAR, which has seen a number of ho-hum title battles in recent years. That has hurt both attendance and TV ratings late in the season, particularly when it came time to go up against pro football and baseball's postseason.
New format
Once the top 10 is locked in Saturday night, NASCAR's new format calls for those drivers to be given additional points, putting them out of reach of the rest of the field. Those 10 will be separated by increments of five points, with the leader going into New Hampshire just 45 points ahead of the 10th place.
Even being on the outside looking in, Burton is impressed with NASCAR's new way of determining a champion.
"When it first came out a lot of people were thinking it wasn't good, it won't work, why change things," Burton said. "Now everyone is wondering how long it will take before the Busch cars and the trucks will switch over to the new points system.
"It has created such a level of excitement, I don't understand how there is a loser in the deal. If you were 12th in points going into the final 10 races of the season, you weren't going to win the championship under the old points system anyhow."
Burton does have one gripe, though.
"The only thing I don't like about it is that the guy who is 11th could be out of the chase for the championship," Burton said. "But he is also out of the chase for fifth in points. I wish there was a way to not lock you out and let you improve your standings."
Former series champion Rusty Wallace, who recently announced he will retire after next season, is another outsider in the points chase, going to Richmond in 20th place. But his goal is to steal the spotlight from the championship contenders.
"While everybody else it seems is going nuts about the points -- making the cut and all -- it's our perfect opportunity to sneak in there and steal some of the thunder," said Wallace, a six-time Richmond race winner. "We know we're paying the price for our season of missed opportunity, so we're hoping to come in there and grab the Sunday headlines when the smoke has cleared."