Jeff Burton hopes Saturday night doesn't go like Friday did. Credit: Autostock

Busch race serves as practice for Chasers

Harvick makes most of opportunity, while others have problems

RICHMOND, Va. -- Jeff Burton's margin toward making the Chase and not making it is as thin as it gets.

Kevin Harvick's Chase hopes on the other hand are flourishing, and after the domination he administered in Friday night's Emerson Radio 250 Busch Series race at Richmond International Raceway, the rest of the Chasers will be keeping an eye out.

Kevin Harvick won Richmond's Busch race for the third consecutive time. Credit: Autostock

Emerson Radio 250 Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Kevin Harvick Chevy 2. Greg Biffle Ford 3. Matt Kenseth Ford 4. Paul Menard Chevy 5. Reed Sorenson Dodge 6. Denny Hamlin Chevy 7. Dave Blaney Chevy 8. Scott Wimmer Ford 9. Carl Edwards Ford 10. Scott Riggs Dodge • Complete results, click here • Standings, click here Victory LaneKevin Harvick takes the checkers at the Emerson Radio 250! Top finishersBiffle, Kenseth and Menard talk about their race at Richmond Final lapsKevin Harvick gets to the checkered flag at Richmond Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Burton's Chase hopes rest on the 30 points he has in hand over Kasey Kahne for Saturday night's Chevy Rock & Roll 400. They certainly weren't boosted by a mechanical error that sent him to the garage before the halfway point on Friday.

After earning the pole and leading 39 of the first 103 laps, Burton wound up with a flat right-front tire on Lap 105. After pitting and losing two laps, he came back in on Lap 112 and it was determined that there was a root cause to the flats that could not be fixed.

"We had something go wrong with the brakes, maybe a rotor, and it would have taken 20 laps to fix it," a frustrated Burton said before heading back to the transporter.

According to team sources, a "misdirected brake duct" was the cause of the flat, blowing hot air on the bead of the tire where the tire bends into the wheel rim. The result was because the brake duct was "installed incorrectly," which was the reason the car was retired.

Up until then, it looked like Burton was using the 250 laps of Busch Series racing to get some idea of what he'll face Saturday night.

"The 29 [Burton] had an awfully good car, as good a car as we had, and I thought it was going to come down to the two of us," Harvick said. "But then Jeff had a flat tire and wasn't able to come back from it."

In fact, other Chase contenders tangled with trouble as well.

Matt Kenseth had an early flat tire, but recovered to finish third.

A few laps after Burton's chances went up in smoke, Denny Hamlin had a right-front issue and faded. He recovered to finish sixth.

Carl Edwards was involved in a wreck and had to be pushed to the pits. He, too, recovered, got back on the lead lap and finished ninth.

Harvick, obviously, got the most out of Friday night's tuneup, leading 154 laps and earning his third consecutive RIR Busch Series victory.

But the question remains whether he can he do it again for the Cup race on Saturday night.

"I feel like our Cup car is better than our Busch car was," Harvick said without hesitation. "Hopefully, we can do this again [Saturday] night. We've been really close here in the past."