Cross' Words: Richmond

It may be another day or two before these words come to pass his lips, but Kyle Busch is prepared whether fans want to accept it or not: "I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. France."

He's not a lot of things -- but he is a racer, and that's what the sport thrives on. He'll never be as popular as Dale Earnhardt Jr. He'll never be as photogenic as Kasey Kahne. But Busch will win a Cup title before either of them. And not just because he drives for Hendrick Motorsports, though that is a plus. (Insert Capt. Obvious reference here.)

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Sunday at Richmond was a perfect example of Busch's resiliency. After crashing out of the Busch and Cup series races a week earlier at Talladega, Busch unloaded his loathed No. 5 Chevy COT at RIR, qualified 34th and wheeled it to a second-place finish behind teammate Jimmie Johnson.

"That was a really good run for us," Busch said. "The 48 was a little better and had a little better restart on that last run and just got us."

Busch moved up to sixth in the standings and now is 462 points behind another teammate, Jeff Gordon. Given the changes to the Chase format, Hendrick's three cars are poised to lead the field when the green drops at Loudon -- and Busch has to be one of the favorites to hoist the Cup at Homestead, considering five of the 10 Chase races will be run with the COT.

There is a lot of racing between now and Richmond, where the Chase field will be set on Sept. 8, and there is a lot of time remaining for Busch to throw a nutty and lose his cool, but that also can be said for more than just one driver. The key is composure and learning from those who have been there, done that. Like big brother and 2004 Cup champion Kurt Busch.

"It's a scenario I've seen many drivers go through, including myself, where you have very fast racecars each and every week," Kurt said. "You have good opportunities to win races and you're not sealing the deal. I've talked to him about it and the experience I've had with it and I think he's got that intensity that one week he didn't win so he's going to go push harder the next week. Then he goes and pushes harder again and it gets to the point where he's out of his element and he needs to get focused and get back to the basics instead of trying to push hard and make up for lost ground.

"[Kyle] just needs to look at the bigger picture," Kurt said. "I know he's frustrated with it, but overall he has to be happy because he's got fast race cars and he can go out there and try to win races with it. A lot of young drivers go through it."

Other than the I'm-entitled attitude that many fans point toward as his biggest problem, Kyle Busch is one of the most talented drivers on the track each week. And while he may be tough for fans to swallow, anyone who denies his talent is merely kidding themselves.

Random ruminations after Richmond ...

One day race at RIR and I already miss night racing. Mother Nature is not a nice person. ... Ward Burton is gunning for Sterling Marlin. Feels like 2002. Feels good, too. ... Jeff Green and Johnny Sauter deserved much better fates. ... After crashing-out for a 40th-place finish, Kasey Kahne's average finish at Richmond since his breakthrough victory in 2005: 21.2. ... Johnny Benson's start was his first in the Cup Series since Oct. 30, 2005, at Atlanta. ... Two days after dumping crew chief Matt Borland, Dale Jarrett failed to make a race for the first time since Oct. 2, 1994, at North Wilkesboro. (Continued)