Sauter

Last weekend at Michigan International Speedway was a hard-earned 15th-place finish. The car was really a handful all afternoon. The guys kept making adjustments during our pit stops, but we just never got it comfortable. There were lots of cars really using the entire track every lap.

During our qualifying run, I posted a fast lap of 182.274 mph to earn the 15th starting position. It was the fifth consecutive race where we qualified in the top 15.

Early in the race, on Lap 6, Mike Skinner and Kevin Lepage got together and Kevin was sent spinning down the backstretch out of Turn 2. The collision also collected the cars of Greg Biffle and Randy LaJoie.

Fortunately for us, I was able to weave through the wrecked cars and debris without any damage.

We stayed in the top-15 leading to our first pit stop on Lap 50. The car was real loose, so Gene (Nead, crew chief) called for a major chassis adjustment.

Throughout the duration of the race, we shuffled from around 15th to 20th position. The car would get more and more loose during the long green flag runs.

After the final caution flag on lap 115, we restarted in the 20th position for a 10-lap shoot-out. I was able to gain five positions with a good car at the end to earn a 15th place finish.

I'm sure there are several drivers that would love to leave here with a 15th, but this team is better than that. We'll just continue to work hard and get ready for Bristol next Friday. That's always a wild show!

I've really been looking forward to this race. Bristol is an exciting and fun track. It's fun if you've got a good handling car, not much fun if you don't. Obviously, things happen very fast at Bristol, so you need a little luck to survive 250 laps. I've had several good runs at Bristol and look forward to another one Friday night.

The Bristol track being concrete also makes a big difference. The concrete surface is not affected by the weather as much as other tracks. We practice and qualify during the afternoon and race at night. The transition from afternoon to night racing at Bristol is not as great as you might experience at an asphalt track. That's a big factor when you look at setting up your car for the race.

On another note, I have signed an agreement to drive the Richard Childress-owned No. 21 car in the NASCAR Busch Series for 2002. The announcement was made official at a news conference Saturday morning at Michigan. I drove in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for three successful years for Childress previously.

That team has good equipment, good sponsors and good people. They've got a lot of resources and it's just a good place for me to go. I have a good relationship with Richard and I look forward to continuing it. I am also excited that my younger brother, Johnny, will be my teammate. He has also signed an agreement to drive for RCR in the No. 2 car.

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.