Kyle Busch won his first Busch race in 2004 at Richmond. Credit: Autostock

Richmond's Friday night lights full of action, too

Busch race buried under Cup coverage, but doesn't lack intensity

The Richmond Busch Series race better than the Cup race? Better than the race that determines the Chase participants?

Friday night better than Saturday night? Forty-two drivers chasing one better than nine drivers chasing eight playoff spots?

Tim Sauter is 25th in the driver standings. Credit: Autostock

SAUTER SET TO GO Tim Sauter will be back behind the wheel Friday night at Richmond.  After a hard crash and injury on Aug. 25 at Bristol, Sauter took last week off at the advice of NASCAR's neurologist Dr. Jerry Petty. He said it was the right decision.  "Drivers don't like to sit out, but it was a good thing that I didn't go to California last week," Sauter said. "When Dr. Petty examined me at Bristol, he explained to me the risk of taking another hit so soon which made an easy decision to take the week off."  Now Sauter turns his attention to Richmond, where he wrecked twice in the spring race -- the first with his brother Jay and the second because of a flat tire.  "I'm ready to put everything behind us, because we've got eight more races this year," said Sauter, whose team is outside of the top 30 in Busch Series owners' points which guarantees him a spot in the field.  "I feel good. I'm ready to get back in the car this week."  Bristol bangTim Sauter's hard hit at Bristol brought out the red flag Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

One driver says yes. Sort of.

"There's a lot going on in the Busch race at Richmond, more so than the Cup race," said Kyle Busch, who will run both events. "There are a lot of guys dicing around for position Friday night that you don't normally see on Saturday.

"I think it's mostly because there's half the number of laps in the Busch race, so you have to get to the front twice as quickly."

Or maybe Busch likes the Friday race better because it's where he got his first victory.

Busch's first win in NASCAR's top three series came in the spring Busch Series event when he started from the pole, led 236 of 250 laps and beat series honchos Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick.

At 19, Busch went on to grab four more victories to close out the season second in the standings behind champion Martin Truex Jr.

"I think when Kyle walks into Richmond, he has a little more confidence than normal because it's the site of his first NASCAR Busch Series win," crew chief Chad Walter said.

Two years later Busch is battling for a Nextel Cup championship while running his second full season in the Busch Series. He said Friday night's Emerson Radio 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT) will be one of the toughest on the schedule.

"The biggest deal with Richmond is to get through in one piece, just like every other track," Busch said. "But that race is tough because the competition is so close. The motors are all pretty equal, so everyone is running together. You won't see a car blow by another one."

But does that make it the perfect racetrack?

"It's pretty close," Walter said. "For us as a team, it's a Friday night short-track race, which is pretty much taking us back to where each of us started our career in racing."

"As far as racing goes, I think Richmond is tops," said Jeff Burton, who is from South Boston, Va., and has two wins at Richmond. "It's side-by-side race action and still small enough to be good short-track racing action but big enough to have the speeds and the stuff that creates a whole heck of a lot of excitement for the fans."

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The problem for almost every driver, however, is the same problem that arises each week: Harvick.

Friday night short-track racing is Harvick's style. His 11 victories on tracks shorter than a mile are more than any full-time driver. His 6.471 average finish on short tracks tops everyone but two-time champ Sam Ard.

Richmond is no different.

Harvick has three wins at the three-quarter-mile track and has won the past two races there. Seven of the past eight trips have resulted in top-10s. The other was a 12th-place finish last spring.

"We've just had good cars and put ourselves in position to win in the end," Harvick said. "It's just something where you have to put yourself in position and go from there and do everything you can to cross the finish line first."

Sounds simple, but it's not.

"With tire pressures being mandated at what they are, it makes it hard to make the car handle after about 25 or 30 laps because the right-front tire gets so much air in it," Harvick said.

"The key to running well at Richmond is to get your car turning through the center, but have enough forward bite coming up off the corner," Busch said.

But if it wasn't difficult, it wouldn't be Richmond.

"No race at Richmond is easy," Busch said. "It will be a tough race Friday night."