Earnhardt says contact with Busch 'ironic'

RICHMOND

Dale Earnhardt Jr. says that if he meant to crash Kyle Busch in Sunday's race, it would have ended differently.

"If I wreck somebody, I ain't going to leave him in good enough shape to come back and get me in the same race, so that wasn't really my intentions," Earnhardt said.

Still, their tango was "ironic," as Earnhardt put it.

It was Busch who tapped Earnhardt out of the lead in the final laps of the Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway in May.

Sunday, Earnhardt knocked Busch out of the lead with about 150 laps to go. Did Busch think it was intentional?

"Who knows?" Busch said. "Hard racing... and unfortunately, things happened that way."

Earnhardt dove under Busch to pass, but clipped Busch's left rear as he slammed on the brakes to avoid contact. The hit sent Busch's car backing into the wall. Busch finished 15th. Earnhardt placed fourth.

Since criticizing crew, Hamlin continues surge

While Jimmie Johnson celebrated his second win in a row, Denny Hamlin scored his third consecutive third-place finish. Hamlin made his charge since criticizing his crew by saying the team didn't belong in the Chase with the way it was running.

"I like going into the Chase with the finishes that we have because I feel like it's good momentum," he said.

Strike off Martinsville as Chevy track in 2009

Chevrolet won't renew its contract with Martinsville Speedway after this season, track president Clay Campbell said, making it one of five tracks Chevy will drop after this season when its contract ends.

Bristol Motor Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway already have confirmed Chevrolet will not renew contacts with them. Jeff Chew, marketing manager of Chevrolet, wouldn't name the other two tracks Chevrolet will drop. He said that will leave Chevrolet with seven track sponsorships for next year.

Richmond International Raceway will remain a Chevy track and its contract to sponsor Sunday's race goes through next year.

Also, Campbell, a co-owner in Bobby Hamilton Racing, said that Dodge will not continue to support the Craftsman Truck team after this season. Dodge, which won 64 truck races from 1997-2005, will leave that series after this season. The Hamilton team was the only one that Dodge continued to support.

Which car will Logano drive this weekend?

Joey Logano will attempt to make his Cup debut this weekend at New Hampshire after rain ruined his chance in Richmond. The question is which car will he drive.

Logano was scheduled to drive the No. 02 Home Depot car before rain canceled qualifying Friday. He is scheduled to drive at New Hampshire for Hall of Fame Racing, which is sponsored by DLP. The key issue is Joe Gibbs Racing officials are trying to arrange it so Logano's debut comes in a Home Depot-sponsored car. J.D. Gibbs, team president, said he hoped to have a decision made by today.

Red Bull GM may pass on reported offer

Jay Frye, general manager at Red Bull Racing, says he's happy where he's at in response to a report he's been offered a contract by Stewart Haas Racing for a management position.

Frye would not say what his plans are. He spent last week in Austria, meeting with team owner Dietrich Mateschitz, founder of Red Bull, and other officials, discussing the team's future. Among the topics was AJ Allmendinger, who has not been offered a contract yet for next season. Frye said several scenarios about Allmendinger's status were discussed.

Richmond's sellout streak ends at 33

Sunday's crowd was estimated at 110,000 - about 2,000 short of capacity. It ended Richmond's streak of 33 consecutive sellouts.

PIT PASSES

Jimmie Johnson collected $256,836 for the victory.... Robby Gordon finished 42nd and fell out of the top 35 in car owner points, meaning Gordon is not guaranteed a starting spot next weekend at New Hampshire.