A crucial call early in the race proved very profitable for Mark Martin and the No. 6 bunch. Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

Sunoco Pit Move: Banquet 400

Pit story of the race

Pat Tryson's move to take two tires was easily one of the better calls of the year.

Victory LaneMark Martin celebrates his 35th career win at Kansas On the moveGreg Biffle gains two spots in the point standings Banquet 400Catch all the highlights of the Chase in Kansas Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Martin had qualified 19th, making him the first driver to win at Kansas with starting spot worse than 11th.

The move on Lap 120 -- made under caution -- propelled Martin into the lead for the first time, and he essentially never gave it up.

Martin probably played possum all week. He certainly had a better car than his starting spot indicated, and the fact that his car handled so well on old tires showed how well it was prepped.

Vickers can't make two tires work

Brian Vickers has scored more points than any non-Chaser in the second half, but he fell like a rock after he took two tires on his final stop.

It's hard to argue against the call, but it certainly didn't work as well as it did for Martin, who he had the benefit of clean air. Vickers was clearly hoping he would restart better than fifth, and he quickly became a roadblock in the final laps.

Vickers was running as high as eighth with just seven laps to go, but he was passed for 10th on the final lap by Jeff Gordon.

"During the last pit stop, Lance [McGrew, crew chief] made a great call for two tires," Vickers said. "We wanted another top-10 bad, but we didn't have enough grip to maintain position. Five or so less laps and we would have been all set."

Wallace picks good time to have pit trouble

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Rusty Wallace qualified badly (33rd) at Kansas, so a broken jack during the first pit stop didn't really hurt him all that much.

Wallace's last two pit stops averaged 13.5 seconds apiece and played a major role in getting him a much-needed seventh-place finish.

Quotable

Sunoco Pit MoveMartin takes the lead with a two-tire stop on Lap 120 Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

"We had a good day on the racetrack, but our pit stops weren't good. We've had problems all year. The car was good, the engine was good, the pit stops weren't good. That's how simple it is." -- Kyle Petty, who finished 29th

"It was one of those days when we had a 13.6-second pit stop and lost four spots on pit road." -- Jeremy Mayfield, who wound up 16th