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.

Say what?

"If we meet, it might just be a nod. I don't know if she'll be able to understand me -- I don't speak English."
-- "King" Richard Petty, before his scheduled meeting with Queen Elizabeth II of England at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday

Figuratively speaking

1992 -- The last time one manufacturer won nine of the first 10 races, when Ford reeled off nine consecutive victories before Dale Earnhardt won at Charlotte. ... Chevrolet's nine wins mark its best start since 1996 (7 of 10).

Up Next

Dodge Avenger 500 | Darlington | 7 p.m. ET Saturday, FOX
Race No. 11 of 36 | Get your tickets | Book your travel

• Defending race winner: Greg Biffle
• Most victories at the track: 6 -- Jeff Gordon
• Best average finish (minimum five starts): Jimmie Johnson (7.2 in eight starts)
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Mailbag

From Brooks ...
Is there something to the fact that the 24's good start comes after the 48 won a championship? It seems the 24 team's performance dipped a bit when the 48 team started. The 24 team's performance has not been dominating like it was before the 48 team started. Then the 48 team wins a championship and the 24 team is dominating again. Could it be that Jeff and Mr. Hendrick made sure the 48 team had everything it needed and guided it to its first championship at the expense, albeit small expense, of the 24 team? You know, to make sure the 48 team was set up for a good long time? Now that it seems the 48 team is set up, the 24 team has turned on jets.

I think you're on to something there, Agent Mulder. Let's crunch the digits: Since 2002, JJ's first full season, he leads the Cup Series in wins, top-10s, average finish and points. Gordon is second, fourth, fourth and fifth in those categories. (They are tied for second in top-five finishes.) ... If there was a conscious effort to bring the 48 team up to speed, it certainly worked.

From Brett ...
I thought that the idea of the COT was to level the playing field. Yes, I realize that Harvick had some misfortune on pit road, but Hendrick Motorsports has won all four COT races now and had three of the top four spots Sunday. One Ford, two Dodges and seven Chevrolets in the top 10 ... looking at this, NASCAR has not leveled the playing field. In fact, it seems like they may have dealt HMS the upper hand now that it has won seven of the first 10 races. I am definitely looking for other things to do with my Sunday afternoons, as it is not a lot of fun hearing about the same couple of guys every week.

Leveling the playing field is a working theory. The reality is that Hendrick has the pockets to out-spend, out-test, out-everything the other teams. Before condemning the COT, let's see how the field levels when four-car teams are the rule. ... Question is, will anyone be around to see that come to pass?

From Kevin ...
I'm a Dale Jarrett fan and like everyone else and I support him, but watching the race on Sunday I noticed an ironic twist of fate. During the race the UPS commercial played in which Dale met his new spotter and he warned him, "Richmond, Lap 57, go low and stay there." Ever since the commercial started showing I've waited to see if it would have been comedic irony if on the 57th lap something would happen at Richmond. Guess we will have to wait till the next Richmond race. Too bad he couldn't warn him that he would end up missing the race entirely ...

Yes, art does imitate life. Eerie, ain't it.

From Mike ...
Not again -- Chevy, Chevy, Chevy ... guess I'll start watching drag racing. Has NASCAR looked into why it's been a Chevyfest every week? Let's see them take some of the Hendrick cars and inspect them.

Casey Mears is ready when NASCAR is.

Six of one ...
Drivers with momentum heading to Darlington:

• Hendrick Motorsports -- Too Tough to Tame? Not for these guys, not in the COT:

• Denny Hamlin -- He's finished third in the past three COT races. Good bet for Victory Lane on Saturday night.

• Tony Stewart -- Three top-10s in the past six races, six in 10 starts. Where there's Smoke, there's fire.

• Matt Kenseth -- Another top-10. ... Did you know he has a series-leading 3,228 laps run on the lead lap?

• Dave Blaney -- Just missed Toyota's second top-10 finish; 11th at Richmond was his first top-15 since Sept. 24 at Dover (12th).

• J.J. Yeley -- Challenging Kenseth for Mr. Consistency title: 22.1 is Yeley's average starting and finishing positions.

Half a dozen of the other ...
And six drivers who need a jump start:

• Jeff Burton -- Back-to-back sub par showings, including his first last-place finish since Aug. 14, 2005, at Watkins Glen.

• Jamie McMurray -- Finished 41st at Richmond, by far his worst of the season. Let's call it a bump in the road. For now.

• David Stremme -- Has bobbed back and forth between top-15s and forgettable finishes during the past six races.

• Juan Montoya -- Add Johnny Sauter to the list of folks to whom JPM won't have to send a Christmas card.

• David Gilliland -- 2007 average finish at plate races: 6.0. Average finish in the other eight starts: 31.5.

• Dale Jarrett -- That TiVo thing is pretty cool, huh?

Feel the power
Three names you'll see in the Power Rankings' top 10 on Wednesday:

8. Kyle Busch -- Four top-10s in as many COT races. Yeah, he really hates these flying bricks ...

9. Clint Bowyer -- Ranks 10th in points, the lowest of the three RCR cars.

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- Sits in the swing position -- 13 points out of 11th, 19 points from 13th.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.