Emerson Radio 250 - Stacy Compton Notes

Compton's Kingsford Sure Fire/Bush's Baked Beans Ford To Continue Push at Richmond International Raceway

RICHMOND, Va. - Stacy Compton likes to go fast. He also loves short tracks. The Richmond International Raceway is the best of both worlds.

Friday night's Emerson 250 is one of Compton's favorite races. More important, it can be another gauge on the progress of his Wood Brothers/JTG Racing team.

"When we've gone back to tracks for the second time this year, we've been so much better," Compton said. "The different between the first half of the season and the second has been incredible. We knew it was going to take some time to figure out the new Ford Fusion and now we're able to apply our knowledge."

Compton is eager to see how much the improvements on his Kingsford Sure Fire/Bush's Baked Beans Ford will help him at Richmond. It's always been one of his favorite tracks because its D-shaped design allows for 125-mph speeds. But the narrow racing groove in the corners is more like a short track.

"It's one thing to beat and bang on a short track; it's another to beat and bang at 125 mph," Compton said. "You have to approach the track with a short track mentality. You have to pick your spots and be willing to use your bumper, if necessary, to push your way through. It's a lot of fun. It's easy to see why Richmond is one of the most-popular racetracks among the drivers."

Compton has improved dramatically at nearly every track during the second half of the season. He said the second trip to each raceway is about applying what they've learned during the first half, not making educated guesses.

"We know more about the car, but we know more about ourselves, too," Compton said. "We've gelled as a race team. We're a lot better every place we go. We were 37th at Richmond when we were there last May, but we got swept up in a couple problems. If we can avoid them - and the best way to do that is to run closer to the front - we should be a Top-10 car."

Compton said the team's goal during the second half is to push into the Top 15 in the NASCAR Busch Series standings. The team was as far back as 29th in the rankings during the first half. Now they're 17th and climbing. He's 21 points from 16th and 81 points from the Top 15.

"We've made up a lot of ground in the second half," Compton said. "And we're only getting better. We want to keep improving and moving up."

Qualifying for the Emerson 250 is at 4:35 p.m. ET Friday. The main event follows later that night at 7:50 on TNT.

Stacy Compton Fast Facts