Despite a boatload of problems, Matt Kenseth nearly finished in the top 10 at Texas. Credit: Autostock

Miserable weekend costs Kenseth points lead

No. 17 team never found the right combination for Texas

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Robbie Reiser, crew chief for Matt Kenseth, didn't mince words when describing his team's performance -- or lack of it -- in the Dickies 500.

"I think we've got to get back and do some work on our performance," Reiser said. "We've got to run better than that.

Tony Stewart celebrated his first victory at Texas. Credit: Autostock

Dickies 500 Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Tony Stewart Chevy 2. Jimmie Johnson Chevy 3. Kevin Harvick Chevy 4. Kyle Busch Chevy 5. Clint Bowyer Chevy 6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevy 7. Casey Mears Dodge 8. Kurt Busch Dodge 9. Jeff Gordon Chevy 10. Denny Hamlin Chevy • Complete results, click here • Driver standings, click here Victory LaneTony Stewart celebrates his Dickies 500 win at Texas! Top finishersDale Jr., Johnson and Bowyer talk about their race in Texas Final lapsTony Stewart gets the checkered flag in Texas Spin outMulti-car crash sends Mark Martin spinning UnfortunateJeff Burton slams the wall, sending him to garage with heavy damage Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

"We don't deserve [the title] if we don't run better than what we ran tonight. That's the bottom line."

Kenseth finished 12th and lost the points lead to Jimmie Johnson, who finished second for the third time in four weeks.

During that same period, Kenseth hasn't finished better than fourth, and he now heads to Phoenix 17 points behind Johnson, who was a lowly eighth in the standings after his last-lap crash at Talladega last month.

Johnson spent all but 10 laps in the top 10 at Texas. Kenseth, who spent just five laps in the top 10, didn't comment after the race, leaving his hauler out of the side door.

Had Kenseth stuck around to comment, he undoubtedly would have stated the obvious: He drove a car that simply wouldn't handle well. It was a miserable weekend all around for Kenseth, who was saddled with a 34th-place starting spot.

Kenseth barely missed the car of Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Lap 166 when Junior slapped the wall. During the ensuing caution, Kenseth led a lap when Reiser kept him on the track during a yellow-flag sequence.

Kenseth's problems were compounded on Lap 259 when he was busted for speeding on pit road. Despite the multitude of problems, Kenseth stayed on the lead lap all day, but he was usually stuck on the tail end of it.

As bad as Kenseth's car was, Reiser nearly stole a top-10 for him by short-pitting with less than 50 laps to go. Kenseth made his final stop several laps before the leaders, and for awhile, it appeared the strategy would work.

"We weren't really going to finish any worse if we took a gamble, so I just decided to come early for tires and see if we could get a better position than where we were at that point," Reiser said.

But three laps from the finish, a multi-car wreck was triggered when Kevin Harvick and Scott Riggs got together in Turn 4, and the front of Kenseth's Ford clipped teammate Carl Edwards. Reiser said the wreck cost Kenseth a handful of spots.

"We probably would have been eighth or ninth if we could have stayed out of the wreck at the end," Reiser said. "It would have been good, but getting 12th was a good run for us."