Sauter

We had to battle our way back from what appeared to be an oil leak early in the race, but later turned out to be insignificant, to post a 14th-place finish last Saturday night at IRP. I was forced to work my way from the rear of the field several times during the race.

During qualifying I posted a fast lap of 108.745 mph to earn the 13th starting position. It was our fourth consecutive top-15 qualifying run. Our qualifying has definitely improved as of late.

It didn't take long in the race for things to heat up. On lap nine, Jeff Green, who was running directly behind me, reported to his spotter that I was leaking oil and it was hitting his windshield. I was forced to make a pit stop under the next caution flag to have the crew check for a possible leak underneath the car.

After a quick check, I exited the pits only to return one lap later. NASCAR officials spotted oil in our pit area from the first stop, and I was called back in. The pit crew identified some minor excess oil on the engine that was the culprit, but there were no other problems with the car. I was forced to give up valuable track position and restart the race in the 35th position.

I then began to work my way through race traffic toward the front. On lap 51, a caution flag came out and we made our third pit stop of the evening for tires, fuel, and a chassis adjustment. We restarted in 27th position on lap 56.

As the race leaders began to make their initial pit stops during a caution period on lap 62, I was able to stay on the track and gain some positions.

At the midway point of the race, I was running in the 23rd position.

I was able to gain additional positions as cars ahead of me made their final pit stop on lap 118. I worked my way through heavy race traffic to move into the top 20 on lap 135.

At the checkered flag, I recorded a 14th-place finish.

This was a tough night having to battle in race traffic most all evening. I really thought that I had a good, strong car that could be a contender tonight, but I just couldn't get any track position to be able to run with the leaders.

There were several close calls out there tonight, so I'm fortunate to have salvaged a 14th-place finish. It was really wild tonight. Every lap was an adventure. But, that's why the fans love short track racing, and I believe they got their money's worth tonight.

We maintained our 17th position in the overall NASCAR Busch Series point standings.

The next race is at the Michigan Speedway on Saturday, August 18th. We will be off next weekend.

The month of July (and into August) has really been a tough one for the Busch Series teams. We've had six races in five different states traveling across the country. This off-weekend comes at a good time to give us an opportunity to catch our breath and get ready for a tough four-race stretch starting at Michigan. With Bristol, Darlington, and Richmond coming after Michigan, the Quality Farm Stores team is looking to make a move in the point standings and finish the season strong.

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.