by Kurt Busch, Special to FOXSports.com

Looking back at Richmond: Finally a good and solid day at the track

( / Getty Images)

Looking back on last week's race at Richmond, the first thing that comes to my mind is just how weird the entire weekend was. Not so much as what went on at the track, but it was so bizarre to have the weather play such a big part in the way it did.

We were all talking on Sunday before the race and nobody could remember anything like that happening. The fact that we practiced on Friday and got ready to qualify only to see them pull the plug on everything was strange enough. But when they told everyone to leave and not come back until Sunday, it was surreal. I really applaud NASCAR for doing what they did, though. Just as predicted, Hanna came through the area and dumped a ton of rain everywhere. Then on Sunday, it was absolutely beautiful outside and a great day at the track that everybody could enjoy.

Due to the car owner points, we started 20th in the race. We were decent from the start and moved on up through the field. Just as usual, it was a difficult balancing act to get the car handling well. Loose entering and exiting and a little too tight in the center is terminology that we are accustomed to hearing way too much this season.

During the first half of the race, we made numerous track bar and wedge adjustments. We even removed all the rubbers out of the right-rear spring. Things settled down for us during the final half of the race. The car was the best it was all day with about 100 laps to go. From there on out, all we did on the pit stops was take on fresh tires and fuel.

If you've been following our races very much this year, you'll know what I mean when I say that it was a pretty nice situation to be in. The car was driving good enough that we could race it and we really couldn't think of anything to change that would make it better. One thing we've learned along the way is that these cars are just so super temperamental. What used to be a small track bar adjustment can be the difference from night and day with these cars.

We finished 10th and had a good run today in the Miller Lite Dodge. Everything overall was satisfactory. I think we could give ourselves a B+ all the way through. We just need to get an A for handling one day and make sure we follow up with that with the right adjustments during the race.

After the terrible luck we had been having for the last several races, it was great to have a consistent run like that. The guys were sharp on pit road and the communications was much better than it's been in quite some time now.

You won't hear any complaints at all from me about last week's race. We finally had a good and solid day at the track. It was the final race that determined the 12 guys who are competing in the Chase. We finished 10th in that race. If we'd had a bunch more days like we did at Richmond last Sunday, we would have been fortunate enough to have made the Chase again this year.

On to New Hampshire: Maybe we can sneak in there and win again

Hey, we're coming back to a track this weekend where our Miller Lite Dodge team is the most recent winner. It really feels good being able to say that and wish we could say it a lot more often.

Around the track

Follow the action:

• Chicagoland practice speeds
• Chicagoland schedule, entries

Watch:

• Video Central

Picture perfect:

• Earnhardt at Goodwood
• 2010 Hall of Fame nominees

Read all about it:

• Dale Jr. would consider racing Indy 500
• Eury Jr.: Split with Junior was needed
• Mayfield won't race at Chicagoland

Analysis:

• Hammond: Battle Royale
• Larry Mac: Midseason report cards

Before we start discussing this week's Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire, I just have to go back and set the record straight as to what happened there back in June, when we won the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. It's probably a great time to make sure that the whole story is floating around out there.

The bottom line is that we had a pretty good car that day. It's the same car we raced at Richmond last Sunday and ran decent with. Just looking at the numbers, with a win and a 10th-place finish in its only races so far, you'd have to say it's one of the strongest cars in our fleet right now.

Having that good of a car there in the June race put us in position to stretch our fuel a little bit. When we could make it to the end on fuel, we pitted. We needed a few laps to help us. But we were gonna be loaded for bear and ready to rock n' roll if it came down to the end. When everybody pitted, I was told, "You're in the lead, there's 26 laps to go," that's the most motivation a driver could ever ask for. So we were gonna have our work cut out for us. I felt we could have held off some the guys right behind us, and our pit strategy worked out perfect.

We're confident that with as strong of car as we had there that day, with enough fuel to make it to the end and with a buffer of cars running right behind us and between us and the other fast guys, we would have been able to win the race had we been able to complete it in its entirety.

So, it was really clear to us — just as clear then as it is now — regardless of the race being called official due to the rain, we chalked the win up to our crew chief Pat Tryson using great strategy. It really chapped us when we heard reports that we would not have won unless the rain came.

Anyhow, now let's go on to what I expect for this weekend. The way I look at it is that you'll have 31 teams out there with nothing to lose and everything to gain. The 12 guys competing in Chase will probably be a little on edge. Yeah, they were fortunate enough to make the Chase this year. They certainly don't want to get out there and screw it up right off the bat.

I've been on both sides of the coin over the last few years. I'll try to have in mind which Chase guys are running around me, but I'll still race them individually as I feel they have raced me.

Sometimes you can get out there and wind up in the fence due to somebody else's problems. I'll always remember the New Hampshire race that kicked off the Chase for 2005. We had the super season in '04 and won the first-ever edition of the Chase. We made the cut the next year and hoped to make the best of the final months I was held by contract by the other team. We had a really good race car there that weekend. We'd qualified 12th and had already passed about six cars in the first couple of laps. There's a guy who is notorious for qualifying a super-loose car and starting up front, only to drop like a rock through the field when the green-flag falls. Well, it was this same guy who was falling back who just flat stuck me in the wall.

Long story made short was that we did fix the car and got back out there, but the damage was already done. We finished 35th there in the first race of the '05 Chase and were already behind the eight-ball with nine races remaining.

New Hampshire invasion

Kurt Busch Penske Racing Past performances at Loudon

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Starts	Wins	Top fives	Top 10s	Laps led
15	3	5	6	298

Those 12 Chase guys will certainly be trying to win the race, but they'll all be in a pretty defensive mode. In the final 10 races, you may be able to have one bad race and still have a shot at the championship. The last thing you want to see happen is to have to use that marker there at the very first race.

I expect the usual suspects to be strong there again. The Gibbs cars, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and my little brother seem to always run really strong there. There could be some surprises there, too. It's another track where strategy and fuel mileage can come into play. Man, after the last race there, we know just how true that is.

We're bringing out another new Miller Lite Dodge Charger for this weekend's race. We originally were going to race that same car we won there with back in June, but chose to race it last weekend at Richmond. When you stop and think about it, maybe that was kind of appropriate. We named the car "Rain Man" after winning the June Loudon race. When you think back about the weather conditions we had last week, I guess it's only right that we ran "Rain Man" there.

This new car is a clone of the winning car. Maybe we can sneak in there, catch a few breaks and get us another win at New Hampshire this weekend.

Oh, no ... Eva just said that the forecast says we may be in for more rain there this weekend.

Off the track: Hanging with Seal Team 6 And 'Snake'

After the Richmond race, we headed back over to Virginia Beach to spend a little bit more time with Eva's family and friends.

I had an opportunity on Tuesday that I couldn't refuse and it was something I'll probably remember for the rest of my life. Everybody knows about all the military stationed there around the Tidewater Area. Through a really close friend, we had the chance to go out on Tuesday with the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, better know as Navy SEAL Team SIX. It's a special operations force and I probably should say too much about where we went and what we did.

SEAL Team SIX is the U.S. Navy's main counterterrorist unit and I had the privilege of spending the afternoon with these guys. Okay, I'll tell you this much and that is these guys know everything there is to know about fast boats and marksmanship. Believe me when I tell you that our country is in great hands with these guys helping protect us.

I am proud of our military men and women and we always try to show them our gratitude for the great job they do.

We made it back to Charlotte in time to head over to the new zMax Dragway at Concord and hang out with Snake Prudhomme and some other friends who are part of the NHRA scene. We made it up to the U.S. Nationals at Indy a few weeks back and got hooked on their sport. The new track's opening races, the NHRA Nationals, are set to be run there this weekend. If we weren't racing at New Hampshire this weekend, I bet I don't have to tell you where we would be.

We have another busy schedule on tap at Loudon this weekend. We'll be doing any one of our celebrity bartending deals on Friday night. It's at some cool joint called Varick's in Manchester. We invite all the fans in the area to come on out and enjoy the scene. Heck, I might even buy them a cold Miller Lite.

Before we sign off for this week, I wanted to remind all the fans what we have coming up in just a few weeks from now.

It's another one of the big "Ride with Kurt for the Kids" charity fundraisers. The date for the big event is October 12. We've added a little twist to it this time around in that I'll have a inviting a special guest driver to come and help me out. At Kansas, I am so happy that Mark Martin will be joining me for the event. I've always respected Mark as much as any driver I have ever known and I am thrilled that he agreed to be there. I know that the fans will get an extra kick out of Mark being there and it will certainly add to the excitement for the day. For all the information on the event and to purchase one of the exciting packages, I invite you to log on to our site (www.kurtbusch.com), hit the foundation button on the home page and scroll down to find everything you need to know right there.

We'll have a great time out there, I'll guarantee you that. If you need to call us for some reason or another, you can call (704) 799-2428 and there'll be someone there who'll be happy to help you.

Well, that's it for another week. After hearing what Eva said about the weather, I better go make sure I've packed the rain gear for the trip up to New Hampshire.

Thanks for the read, be cool and we'll get caught up again about this same time next week ...