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

Lead changes often are viewed as a barometer in defining how competitive races are. The more lead changes the better for many fans.

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

Still, 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 after Martinsville in March.

"It's the stretch of races that we're in," Jeff Burton says of the numerous lead changes lately. "You're going to see great races in Phoenix, and you're going to see great racing (at Richmond). Talladega, obviously you're going to see whatever that is. You know, the racetrack puts on great races. These cars are capable of putting on great races."

Last weekend's Richmond race had 21 lead changes compared to four in last year's race when Denny Hamlin led 381 of the first 382 laps before blowing a tire.

Darlington has averaged 27.8 lead changes per race since 2005 when the track began hosting only one Cup race per year.

FOCUSED MIND: Kyle Busch credits some of his success to the focus his father taught him years ago. Busch's victories this past weekend in the Nationwide and Cup series at Richmond give him 50 career wins among NASCAR's top three series.

"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. I'm always trying to keep a step 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 moves in the sport. At issue is if 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, JR Motorsports.

Asked about such a move, Earnhardt hinted it could be possible.

"We would consider it, but we have to do what's right for the company and the business," Earnhardt said. "I feel like I just need to make sure that's the right thing to do for the business. It might not even be what Brad wants. He might want to jump into an established program, which I would too probably. Being a rookie, it would be kind of hard to start a program. I am sure he has some other opportunities that might be more entertaining."

PIT STOPS: The top 10 drivers in the points after the spring Richmond race last year all went on to make the Chase. &ellipses; This year's top 10 in points features drivers from six different teams. Only four teams were represented in last year's Chase.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com