NASCAR’s Chase field all but set before Richmond race

Anticlimactic? Yes. Unimportant? No.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ends its regular season Saturday night with a race in Richmond, Va., that’s supposed to stir drama as the gateway to the 10-race Chase for the Cup title playoff.

But the field of 12 stock-car drivers who will compete in the Chase is all but set. Even so, a win at the 0.75-mile Richmond International Raceway would be a meaningful boost for those Chase rivals seeking the championship.

The last two Chase spots technically remain in play and belong to Greg Biffle, 11th in the current point standings, and Clint Bowyer, who’s 12th.

Three other drivers still have a mathematical chance of reaching the 12th and last spot, but their chances are slim: Ryan Newman, who’s 117 points back in 13th; Jamie McMurray, 128 points behind in 14th; and Mark Martin, 147 points out in 15th place.

The most points a driver can gain on another in a single race is 161, so Biffle needs only to finish next-to-last in 42nd at Richmond to make the Chase. Bowyer can qualify by finishing 28th or better.

“You don’t need an engineering degree to figure out our odds of making the Chase,” said Newman, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver who does have an engineering degree from Purdue University. “Mathematically, we still have a chance, and I guess that means something. But you can’t expect to make up all those points in one shot.”

For those in the Chase, a Richmond win carries valuable bonus points.

When the Chase starts, each driver has his points reset at 5,000. But those with wins in the first 26 races get 10 bonus points for each victory.

Jimmie Johnson, seventh in points and seeking an unprecedented fifth consecutive Cup title, and defending Richmond winner Denny Hamlin, 10th in points, lead the series with five wins apiece.

Current points leader Kevin Harvick and former Richmond winner Kyle Busch have three victories each.

“Our goal is to try and do what we can to win and get those 10 extra bonus points,” said Tony Stewart, the Stewart-Haas co-owner who’s fourth in points after winning his first Cup race of the year last week in Atlanta. “You want to end up with some momentum on your side after Richmond.”

With the regular season ending, what’s also notable is the list of top-tier drivers who won’t make the Chase.

They include David Reutimann (16th in points) who won at Chicagoland Speedway; Juan Pablo Montoya (17th), who captured the Watkins Glen race and was in the Chase last year; Kasey Kahne (18th); and two of NASCAR’s most talented young drivers, Joey Logano (21st) and Brad Keselowski (26th).

Then there’s Dale Earnhardt Jr., who once again had a disappointing season and sits 19th in the standings, 219 points out of the Chase. He also missed the playoff last year.

Despite being a three-time winner at Richmond, the popular Earnhardt said, “We’ve struggled there the past couple of times, but we’ve been doing a lot of testing to get ready for this weekend.”

For Earnhardt, his Hendrick Motorsports team and his army of fans, the larger question is whether he’ll be ready to finally improve next season.

james.peltz@latimes.com