Sauter

We fought our way to a 17th-place finish last Saturday at the Pikes Peak International Raceway. Our team battled all afternoon and worked hard right to the checkered flag. We salvaged a decent finish, but had hopes of a much better afternoon.

We posted some very good practice speeds in the Quality Farm Stores Chevy. I turned in a lap of 130.762 mph in qualifying to earn the fifth starting position. It was the third time in the last six races we were able to qualify in the top-10.

With track conditions very warm and slick, we made a lot of changes and chassis adjustments to the car on Saturday morning to try to hit the right setup. The changes made the car really loose early in the race. With Pikes Peak known for long green flag runs, the car was intentionally loose to compensate for long stretches in the race where the car would begin to tighten up.

Starting from fifth, I battled early to remain in the top five, but the car was very loose in the turns. I began to lose positions as a result. The first caution on lap 69 gave us the opportunity for a chassis adjustment. The pit crew gave me new tires, fuel and made a major chassis adjustment. Gene (Nead, crew chief) and the guys were able to adjust the loose problem, but then the car became tight after the restart.

During our second stop on a green flag run, the guys made more adjustments and we were better then, but late in the race the cars with fresher tires were hard to handle.

We competed in the top-20 all afternoon and ended our day in the 17th position.

After 21 of the 33 races on the Busch schedule, we currently stand 17th in the standings.

The next stop is the Kroger 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park next Saturday night. This week, I'll have the Morton Salt car and I really want to give those folks a good run.

I am looking forward to Indy. I love short-track racing and IRP is short-track racing at its best. I've got a lot of laps on this track and really like racing there.

Since the new pavement was laid at IRP, the groove has widened and gives you a lane to pass. Last year, I had a good strong top-10 car until a lapped-car took us out.

IRP can be a fun track if you've got a good handling car. You definitely have to be on your toes all night. There's usually plenty of beatin' and bangin' on the short tracks, and I expect no different Saturday night. We need to put together of string of strong races to gain back some of the ground we've lost recently. IRP would be a great place to start.

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.