Rick Minter's OBSERVATIONS
Key story lines as NASCAR heads to Darlington.
Richmond not all about being fast

NASCAR Clint Bowyer thrills the fans with a burnout to celebrate winning Saturday's race at Richmond International Raceway, the second victory of his Cup career.

Saturday night's Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Raceway was the kind of race clichés are made of.

After leading 381 of the first 382 laps, homestate hero Denny Hamlin slowed with a flat tire, showing once again that "it ain't over till it's over."

Then, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch lined up to battle for the victory.

Those two crashed, opening the door for 31st starter Clint Bowyer, a non-factor for most of the race, to score a surprise victory, the second of his Cup career.

"You know, the fastest car does not always win," Bowyer said in his post-race interview.

Said Hamlin: "It just wasn't meant to be." Earnhardt Jr.: No open-wheel deal

Texas Motor Speedway didn't get very far with a $100,000 offer to Dale Earnhardt Jr. if he'd run the IndyCar race at the track on June 7. The speedway got the idea after IndyCar driver Danica Patrick told Earnhardt Jr. on his XM Satellite radio show that Texas would be a good place to try an open-wheel car.

STEWART

Earnhardt Jr. wasn't interested.

"I wouldn't be able to do it," Earnhardt Jr. said. "My conscience wouldn't let me. Even if they offered me more money, my conscience wouldn't let me feel comfortable with doing it."

But he didn't rule out a test session.

"I'd like to jump in it and run a couple of laps, but that would be the extent of the adventure," he said.

Gas prices hurting at all levels

Sprint Cup driver Tony Stewart, who also is an owner and promoter of short tracks, said rising fuel prices are putting a pinch on his extracurricular pursuits. He said the local crowd continues to show up at his tracks in Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois, but the out-of-towners aren't coming in as frequently.

"I think it's directly related to fuel costs," Stewart told reporters during a news conference at Richmond. "I don't know what we've got to do to get that topic under control, but I would put a high priority on getting that topic squashed as soon as possible and getting it to where we can all afford to do what we do again."

Wheeler: Salesman of the year

Many Sprint Cup drivers have questioned NASCAR's decision to hold a test session at Lowe's Motor Speedway this week while running on the new pavement at Darlington with little pre-race preparation.

But Richmond winner Clint Bowyer seems to have it figured out.

"I guess [Lowe's Motor Speedway President Humpy Wheeler] is a better salesman or something," he said, referring to Wheeler's recent public campaign for the Lowe's test session.