Event: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chevy Rock & Roll 400, Race No. 26 of 36

Location: Richmond International Raceway; Richmond, Va.

Top-five finishers: Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Kyle Busch

Race recap: Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Sprint Cup race in his home area of Richmond, Va., but that took a back seat to the scrambling of drivers trying to lock down spots in the series' upcoming 10-race playoffs.

Hamlin was truly deserving on Saturday night, leading 298 of 400 laps en route to the victory. The upside for him was an additional 10 bonus point he carried into the Chase for the Championship.

Brian Vickers entered the race 20 points behind Matt Kenseth for the 12th and final transfer spot. Vickers finished the race in seventh, while Kenseth struggled all night and posted a 25th-place effort. As a result Vickers jumped in and Kenseth dropped out.

In actuality, it was Kyle Busch who was the first driver out of the Chase. He fought his own car the whole night and finished fifth, but that was not enough spots in front of Vickers or another Chase contender to displace them.

Tony Stewart won the regular season points title, but that doesn't mean much now. NASCAR re-racks the point standing heading into the first playoff race, based on how many wins each of the 12 qualifying drivers earned over the regular season. That means that 50-year-old Mark Martin, with his four victories is the top seed.

Stewart and Jimmie Johnson had three wins each and enter the playtoffs 10 points down. Next are the two-win drivers, Hamlin and Kasey Kahne (-20 points); followed by the one-win drivers, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch and Vickers (-30); and the drivers that have not visited victory lane this season, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya and Greg Biffle (-40).

The playoffs begin at New Hampshire International Speedway this coming Sunday.

Goodyear quote by Steve Rigot, racing tire sales manager: "Our Goodyear Eagles had a good amount of drop off in the lap times early in the runs, but had no wear issues. Some teams elected to stay out while others came in, which resulted in some teams running over 100 laps on a set of tires with no issues of any kind. The tires were very consistent in the drop off and wear allowing for outstanding side by side racing -- case in point, the awesome battle at the front of the pack between Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin that went on for 50 laps."

Companion event: Carl Edwards won the race off pit road on a late-race caution and then kept the field at bay over the final, 20-lap, green-flag run to win the NASCAR Nationwide race at Richmond on Friday night. Racing with a broken right foot, Edwards' journey was a long one starting the race at the tail end of the field after changing his ignition system after his qualifying session. The victory enabled Edwards to creep to within 201 points of Kyle Busch for the series' championship lead