Kurt Busch comes in for four tires on Lap 145. Credit: Autostock

Sunoco Pit Move of the Week: Indy

It was a move that didn't gain much ground.

With all the cautions flying around Indianapolis Motor Speedway, an extra pit stop didn't do Kurt Busch any good.

Busch was 11th when he dove into the pits for four tires on Lap 145 -- but two more cautions prevented him from finishing any better than 10th.

Busch was the first car to elect to pit, since all the cars in the top 10 decided to retaintrack position.

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With a spot in the Chase for the Nextel Cup on the line, Busch figured that four fresh tires would mean a top-five finish at Indy. But after restarting 18th, Busch was only able to pick up eight spots, and he wound up 10th.

Busch is seventh in the standings, but only 73 points ahead of 10th-place Ryan Newman.

"I was looking for green to the end, though, when we pitted with 14 laps to go because you've got fresh tires and you want green race track and we didn't get that," Busch said. "We got a lot of yellows.

"We had a top-five car and just never got there because of all the circumstances and all the hurdles we had to overcome."

The finish was Busch's third top-10 in the last five races.

Gordon, Sadler crews battle all day

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One of the more entertaining sideshows at Indy was the continual race off put road between the No. 4 and No. 38 teams. The two pit crews tried to out-do each other all day long in the pits.

It was a pretty fair fight, as each set won a round, although Gordon was able to stay ahead of Sadler in the second half.

Neither team made a mistake in the pits despite the 13-caution day.

Sadler's improved pit crew in 2004 has been a major reason this team is poised to make the Chase for the Nextel Cup.