Darlington may add to the fun of more lead changes

Lead changes have increased by nearly 10 per race in the last four races, and Saturday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Darlington could provide fans with more of the same.

Lead changes often are viewed as a barometer for competition. The more lead changes, the better for fans.

Even with the recent increase, the average number of lead changes per race this year still is down 3.6 per race from this time last year.

Yet, that's an improvement from earlier this season, when the gap in lead changes from last year to this year was nearly 13 per race. That was after Martinsville in March.

"It's the stretch of races that we're in," Jeff Burton said of the spate of lead changes.

Last weekend's Richmond race had 21 lead changes, compared to four in last year's race. Darlington has averaged 27.8 lead changes per race since 2005, when the track began hosting one Cup race per year.

FOCUSED MIND

Kyle Busch credits some of his success to the focus his father taught him years ago.

"People always think that I might be a jerk or I might be not so sociable or not so personable because I'm trying to keep a zone; I'm trying to keep focused on what I'm doing and what's coming up next," Busch says. "I'm always thinking ahead.

"That's what my dad always taught me when I was working on race cars. I would always get done with one thing and then ask him, 'What's next?' He's like, 'Stop asking me. Keep thinking what is the next process, what is the next thing we need to do to get ready to go, whether it's loading the car or tying it down or setting the air pressures.'

"I'm always trying to think ahead. How can we make the Cup car better? What things have we done? What things can we work on?"

MOVING UP?

Brad Keselowski's likely move to Cup next year could set off a few other moves. At issue is whether he'll drive for Hendrick Motorsports, which would have all four spots filled if Mark Martin remained with the team.

Another option would be Stewart-Haas, which has close ties to Hendrick, adding a third car that could go to either Keselowski or Martin. Another scenario could have Keselowski moving up to Cup with Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team.

Asked about such a move, Earnhardt said: "We would consider it, but we have to do what's right for the company and the business."

PIT STOPS

The top 10 drivers in the points after the spring Richmond race last year made the Chase.... This year's top 10 features drivers from six teams. Only four teams were represented in last year's Chase.

- Dustin Long