SLIDESHOW: Sarah Palin in Richmond

At Richmond International Raceway, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin likened the last three weeks of the presidential race to last month's close finish at the raceway in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400.
 
"You all know something about close races" she told the crowd of between 20,000 and 25,000. "John McCain and I are nearing the finish line of another close race," and it will be a sprint to the finish.
 
Before delving into her stump speech, in which she called for tax relief and a freeze on nonessential government spending and setting the nation on a path toward energy independence,  Palin thanked the crowd for "this warm welcome to Richmond, Virginia."
 
The crowd responded with chants of "Sarah, Sarah." Someone down front waved a sign that read "You betcha."
 
"Virginia, are you ready to help us carry the state to victory?" Palin asked.
 
Echoing chants of "drill, baby, drill" and "mine, baby, mine," Palin called for a multi-faceted answer to the energy problem.

In tailoring her remarks to a Virginia audience, Palin criticized a comment that Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic vice presidential nominee, made last month in Ohio when he said Democrats do not support clean coal. Speaking to an environmentalist after a campaign event, Biden said, “We’re not supporting clean coal. . . . No coal plants here in America. Build them, if they’re going to build them, over there. Make them clean.”

Biden says he was making the point that America needs to export “clean- coal” technology to China.

As Palin took the stage at RIR, she thanked the crowd for waiting in long lines. She introduced Hank Williams Jr., who asked, "Are you ready for some Sarah?" a play on his intro to Monday Night Football games.
 
Williams sang new lyrics to his hit "Family Tradition," in which he praises McCain and Palin and criticized Obama and what he called "the liberal media."

Palin headed to Richmond after appearing this morning with Republican presidential hopeful McCain in Virginia Beach. There, McCain said he understands Americans' fear about the economy, and that he has the experience and courage to fight through it.

He also acknowledged that with three weeks before the presidential election, he is down in the polls, but said voters will have the final say.

"Let me give you the state of the race today," McCain said at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. "We have 22 days to go. We're six points down.

"The national media has written us off. Senator Obama is measuring the drapes, and planning with Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi and Senator (Harry) Reid to raise taxes, increase spending, take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections, and concede defeat in Iraq. But they forgot to let you decide. My friends, we've got them just where we want them."

In discussing Americans' fears about the economy, McCain alluded to his more than five years of captivity as a POW in Vietnam.

"I know what fear feels like. It's a thief in the night who robs your strength," he said.

"I know what hopelessness feels like. It's an enemy who defeats your will. I felt those things once before. I will never let them in again. I'm an American. And I choose to fight."

He said the next president won't have time to train in the White House -- he'll have to hit the ground running. "The hour is late, our troubles are getting worse...We have to act immediately."

McCain noted that many years ago, as a young pilot, he was stationed in Virginia
Beach. "It's almost like coming home," he said.

 "America is worth fighting for," McCain said near the end of his remarks. Speaking of the looming election, he added: "Nothing is inevitable here."

Police estimated the crowd in Virginia Beach at 15,000 or 16,000. The convention center has a capacity of 18,000. Sen. Barack Obama filled the venue in an appearance before the Feb. 12 Democratic primary.
 
In a testament to Palin's popularity, several hundred people in the crowd left the convention center after she finished speaking and during McCain's remarks. One sign in the hall paid tribute to  "Gun-totin', lipstick-wearin' women." Others said: "The Obamanation ends here," and "Keep Virginia red, Sarah's got street cred."

At RIR, Chesterfield County mother Jamie Radtke ended home school early for her three children to attend the Palin rally.
 
She held up signs that said "Home schoolers 4 Palin" on one side and on the other, "Palin, getting mavericky," a reference to a Tina Fey skit on "Saturday Night Live."
 
"I guess the biggest inspiration for me is that there's an actual conservative on the ticket," said Radtke, an administrative assistant, who worked at the Capitol when George Allen served as governor.
 
She called "bogus" the notion that Palin is not qualified to serve as vice president.
 
"She can stand toe-to-toe with him," she said, referring to Obama.
 
Like thousands of others who are unable to make it into the ampitheater for the rally, Radtke said she left home early, around 10:30 a.m., and did not expect to encounter the bumper-to-bumper traffic near the rally.
 
"I came to the Indy race here two years ago and I didn't wait this long."
 
Many in the crowd were under the impression that the rally would be held in the raceway complex, and not in an ampitheater. Many made do, sitting on the grass, or on folding chairs, or pushing babies in strollers.
 
Hugh Woodle, 78, of Midlothian, a veteran of the Korean War, supported himself with a cane and wore a button that said: "I'm for a real hero -- McCain 2008."
 
Woodle came to get a glimpse, albeit obstructed, of McCain's running mate.
 
"I like her spirit," he said. "She doesn't have airs. She doesn't try to be fancy. She's honest and a quick thinker."