Sauter

Last weekend at The Milwaukee Mile was supposed to be a big homecoming for me and the Morton Salt team. Instead, a blown engine and an accident ended our run on lap 89. We finished in 33rd position.

We came into The Mile after earning our first ever NASCAR Busch Series pole at Kentucky Speedway two weeks ago. We felt everything was in place for a tremendous weekend and festive homecoming. Several members of my family have visited Victory Lane at this historic track and we were riding a wave of confidence coming in.

During qualifying Friday, we posted a fast lap speed of 120.212 mph to earn the 18th starting position.

To start the race, I was able to quickly move into the top 15. When the first caution period came on lap 27, Gene (Nead, crew chief) and I decided not to pit and hope for another opportunity within the first 100 laps.

We made our first pit stop under caution on lap 42 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. With several teams deciding to take only two tires during this stop, we restarted in 22nd position on lap 44. It didn't take long, however, for me to work my way through traffic.

On lap 59, I moved into the 10th position. Over the next three laps, I moved up into the sixth position. Then on lap 82, all the visions of another strong run for the Morton Salt/Quality Farm Stores team went up in smoke.

As I entered Turn 1 on lap 89, the engine blew. When a broken rod pushed a hole in the engine, oil spilled onto the track. My wheels hit the oil and the Morton Salt Chevrolet spun hard into the Turn 1 retaining wall taking Bobby Hamilton Jr. with me. The resulting damage ended the afternoon far too early for both of us.

It's a real shame we had the problem we did. The car was really strong. Gene and the crew made a chassis adjustment on our first stop that helped a lot. The car was handling well, and I think we were just one more minor adjustment away from a really good finish. This was a top-five car today.

Ironically, this is the same car I had at Richmond that was so quick in practice prior to an accident before qualifying. So, this has been a really fast car even though we had two rough races with it.

The 33rd-place finish at Milwaukee dropped us to 17th in the overall standings.

The next race is at Watkins Glen International this Sunday. We finished eighth last year at The Glen and I have second and sixth-place finishes in the Truck Series races.

I really love road racing. I've been very fortunate to have good equipment in both the trucks and Busch Series races at Watkins Glen. Road course racing presents a unique challenge that I enjoy. To have any degree of success at Watkins Glen, you have to feel comfortable driving the road course. From my first time here in '97, I've just loved this place. I know that we'll have several road course specialists joining us this weekend at the Glen, and that's fine with me. It's just like racing the Winston Cup drivers at our other races. When you run good and beat them, it's a feather in your cap. They'll be tough for sure, but I plan on a good weekend for the Quality Farm Stores/Morton Salt team this weekend. I'll have probably the best car I've ever had at the Glen this week with a different brake system and several other changes.

Watkins Glen is the first race of the second half of our season and this team wants to start off with a strong run and build momentum.

Jay Sauter drives the No. 43 car in the NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division and will be submitting a weekly diary to ESPN.com throughout the season.