Sauter

The fans had to wait an extra day, but the race in Memphis, Tenn., last weekend was worth the wait. The race was one of the wildest, most exciting of the season. And, we, sporting our special paint scheme, were right in the mix to win, but ended up scoring a solid fourth-place finish.

Coming into Memphis, Mike Curb, co-owner of the Curb-Agajanian Motorsports team, developed the idea of the special "God Bless the USA" paint scheme. The car was painted red, white and blue with "God Bless the USA" on the hood and quarter panels. Also, Mike offered to donate all race winnings to the New York Police and Firefighters Widows and Orphans Fund. The special paint scheme was also to honor Mike's late father, Charles Curb, a former FBI agent.

It rained Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the track. Qualifying was washed out and the starting field was set by owner's points, which put us in the 22nd starting position. It was unfortunate because we had posted the third fastest speed in the brief practice Friday, and we felt we would have qualified well. The rain Saturday forced NASCAR to postpone the race to Sunday.

Even though I had one of the fastest cars, I knew the early stages of the race would be critical to success. Race traffic would be a major factor early in the race.

There were three caution flags in the first 35 laps, which kept the field tight.

On Lap 55, I moved up to the 15th position with a very strong car. We made our first pit stop on lap 63 for tires and fuel under caution. With several cars choosing not to pit, we restarted in 17th.

By the 100-lap mark, we put ourselves in position to compete in the top-10. Then, on Lap 132, the entire race almost went up in smoke. I was running with a fast group of cars battling for position, when I was hit on the rear quarter and cut down a tire. In addition to the cut tire, we had heavy damage to the front and left rear section of the car. We were forced to pit several times during the caution for repairs. Even worse, the brake line was damaged in the accident, which left me with only front brakes for the remainder of the race. When the race restarted on lap 142, I was in the 22nd position.

By Lap 200, we were able to move back up to 13th.

The final caution came out on Lap 209, we elected not to pit and gain track position. We restarted the race in fourth on Lap 215.

On Lap 237, I moved past Randy LaJoie for the lead. For the next 11 laps, I worked to stretch the lead and outdistance Jeff Green, who was on the move with fresh tires. With two laps to go, Green and I made contact entering Turn 3 racing for the lead. Both our cars moved up the track and LaJoie slid underneath for the lead and the victory.

We ended up finishing fourth after leading the race with two laps remaining. Green and Kevin Harvick edged past me for the second and third positions in one of the most exciting races of the season.

I came here to win the race. I didn't come here to run second. Jeff and I got together and it hurt him and it hurt me. That's unfortunate. But, that's what racing is all about. I had probably 35 or 40 more laps on my tires at the end of the race than those other guys. I had no thoughts of trying to hold on to second place. I was going for the win.

I really wanted to win this race for the New York City Police and Firefighters Widows and Orphans Fund. I think it was great for Mike Curb to donate the winnings to this group. These folks have really had a difficult time and we just wanted to help them. We battled back from that early accident that left me with no rear brakes and a damaged car. I knew I had a good, strong car capable of winning this race if I could just get to the front. I knew the last couple laps would be exciting and they sure were!

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