Richmond race: Don't mess with Rudd

Rudd's second victory of the season moves him back into realistic title contention after points-leader Jeff Gordon crashed on the 35th of 400 frenetic laps on a boiling Virginia night. Gordon's Hendrick Chevy crew rebuilt his car as best as they could and sent him out to circulate again, but a 36th place finish now leaves him just 222 points ahead of Rudd with 10 races to go. A win pays 180 points - 185 if you lead the most laps, so it's not over yet.

The race was dominated by four cars: Rudd's Ford, Harvick's Chevy, plus the DEI Chevy of Dale Earnhardt Jr and the Penske South Ford of Rusty Wallace. But it was Wallace, the leader of 278 laps to Rudd's 88, who looked the man most likely to win until a last stop tyre pressure change gave him oversteer for the final shoot-out.

Wallace was disposed of by Rudd and Harvick at the final restart and Rudd looked to have it in the bag until a nudge from Harvick forced him high, allowing the rookie sensation through and into the lead. But a dozen laps later, Rudd turned the tables and with Harvick unsettled by the nerf, 'the Rooster' cruised to a 1.027s victory margin in the five laps remaining.

Afterwards, the Virginian veteran was happy to take the plaudits, but made it clear that he wasn't happy with Harvick's move. But as he explained, he'll always give as good as he gets.

"I choose to move people and not wreck them," he shrugged. "That's basically what I did at the end of the race. I got the race back that belonged to us in the first place. What I gave him was a clean love tap."

Earnhardt Jr finished third, with Dale Jarrett also taking the chance to close the gap to Gordon by finishing fourth in the second RYR Ford. Wallace oversteered to fifth, ahead of the Joe Gibbs Racing duo of reigning champion Bobby Labonte and night race wizard Tony Stewart.

Jimmy Spencer followed up his Busch Series race win the night before with eighth overall, with Jeff Burton and Johnny Benson completing the top 10.

For full race results, click here.