An accident on pit road signaled the end of Joe Nemechek's top-10 run. He finished 17th. Credit: Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Sunoco Pit Move: Dover

DOVER, Del. -- Getting caught on pit road when the caution flies is like watching an episode of Little House on the Prairie, when it would always hail on the crops just before harvest, leaving Melissa Gilbert and Michael Landon hilariously in tears.

Kurt Busch had the dominant car at Dover on Sunday, but there simply wasn't much he could do when he got trapped on pit road during the caution on Lap 368.

Final lapsKurt Busch struggles and a green-white-checker finish Chase reactionNewman, Kurt Busch, Martin and Wallace react to their runs Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

The yellow probably cost Tony Stewart a top-10 finish as well, but he wound up 18th. Busch was 23rd.

"[It has] never paid off for us short-pitting like that," Stewart said. "It got us a lap down to where we couldn't get in the top 10."

Tight quarters victimize Nemechek

It's not a real race at Dover unless someone has an accident on its congested pit road.

Dover possesses one of the toughest pit roads on the circuit. Its cramped stalls are bad enough, but there also is a guardrail on the outside that prevents bailout.

Joe Nemechek was in the top 10 when he pitted under caution on Lap 269, but he collided with Kevin Harvick during the sequence, knocking in his right-front fender.

Nemechek had to come in a second time a lap later, dropping him to one of the last cars on the lead lap.

"We had a smooth run going," Nemechek said. "But that pit-road incident really hurt. It forced us to play catch-up the rest of the race."

	Elliott Sadler benefited from his new crew chief for his first top-10 in the past 12 races. Credit: Autostock
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Sadler gets major track position with two tires

Pound for pound, the best call of the race came from first-time crew chief Kevin Buskirk, who sent Elliott Sadler out with just two tires on Lap 202. The move enabled Sadler to move from 13th to the lead, and Sadler was never out of the top 10 the rest of the way.

He finished sixth. It was his first top-10 since June.

"Track position is worth a lot," Sadler said. "We made a two-tire stop and I got the lead and I was like, 'Wow, this is worth a lot.'

"My guys also gave me good pit stops again but, all in all, I'm very proud of Kevin and the job he did [Sunday]."

Quotable

"We kind of backed into that one with a top-10. We just had some lucky pit strategy."
-- Carl Edwards, who was able to come in for tires when the caution came out on Lap 368

"That's too hard of a decision for me, so I didn't get involved in that."
-- Mark Martin, who was running in the lead when he took just two tires during last pit stop, a gamble that didn't pay off when Jimmie Johnson passed him shortly after the restart