Once Kasey Kahne took the lead from Tony Stewart he never gave it up. Credit: Autostock

Cross' Words: Texas

Random thoughts from the Lone Star State ...

• Kasey Kahne could give a clinic on closing the deal (sign-up sheets are over there, Ryan Newman). In eight starts from the pole, Kahne has three wins, a second-place finish, a third and a sixth-place average finish.

Kasey Kahne won his second race this season after starting from the pole position. Credit: Autostock

Samsung/RadioShack 500 Official Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Kasey Kahne Dodge 2. Matt Kenseth Ford 3. Tony Stewart Chevy 4. Denny Hamlin Chevy 5. Kevin Harvick Chevy 6. Jeff Burton Chevy 7. Scott Riggs Dodge 8. Martin Truex Jr. Chevy 9. Mark Martin Ford 10. Bobby Labonte Dodge • Complete results, click here • Official standings, click here Victory LaneKasey Kahne celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 Final lapsKasey Kahne passes Tony Stewart down the stretch Hard hitCarl Edwards' bad luck continues as he wrecks on Lap 257 All-tellingRyan Newman blames Sterling Marlin for his Lap 201 wreck Lite tap?Contact with Kurt Busch sends Greg Biffle to the garage Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

• For the second time in three weeks Tony Stewart led the most laps (99) but didn't take home the checkered flag. Smoke has led the most laps in three consecutive races, the longest streak since he also led three in a row in Races 15-17 -- Michigan, Sonoma and Daytona -- last year.

• Nicole Lunders and Eva Bryan -- thanks for perpetuating the image that NASCAR is rasslin' on wheels. I'm all for pretty faces, but maybe it's time to dial back the pit access to the folks whose job requires them to be in the middle of the action.

• Congrats to Denny Hamlin, whose fourth-place finish was a career-best (and tops for a rookie this season). He has two top-10s at Texas, including a seventh-place run on Nov. 6, 2005. ... In 14 Cup starts, Hamlin now has five-top-10 finishes and eight top-15s.

• Martin Truex Jr. also posted a top-10 finish -- eighth -- for the second time in his 16-race career. His other: a seventh on May 29, 2005, at Charlotte.

• Bobby Labonte's 10th-place finish was his second top-10 in the past three races. The last time the No. 43 car had two top-10 finishes through the first seven races was 2001, when John Andretti also had two -- a sixth at Darlington (Race 5) and a second-place finish at Bristol (Race 6).

• Rookie David Stremme has failed to finish on the lead lap in six consecutive races. In seven starts he has completed 2,107 of 2,383 laps (88.4 percent) and has not led a lap. He has one DNF (Martinsville).

• Kevin Harvick has reeled off three consecutive top-10 finishes. It's his best run since posting five in a row between Dover and Martinsville in Fall 2003. Harvick is ninth in points, his best showing since June 19, 2005, after Michigan.

• Nice run for Scott Riggs on Sunday. After the disappointment of not making the field for the season opener at Daytona, he has rebounded nicely: three top-15s and 28th in points -- ahead of eight drivers who have started all seven races.

• Did we mention that Kahne's three wins have come in a Dodge Charger -- you know, the car that replaced the Intrepid, which some teams held on to for dear life in trying to get a better finish to prove the Charger wasn't racy?

Say Anything

Clint Bowyer Credit: Autostock

"We were behind and we just made a last-ditch effort and put two tires on the left side. It was a good call and it would have worked out good. If we could have had one caution between there we would have been sitting pretty, but unfortunately we kept getting looser and looser. We just got loose over there [off Turn 2 on last lap]. I got sideways, but Kyle [Busch] pretty much drove through me, so what goes around comes around."
-- Clint Bowyer, whose potential top-10 run ended with a last-lap crash and a 19th-place finish

Figuratively Speaking

3 -- Victories for Dodge this season; the manufacturer had only three all of 2005. The last year Dodge won this many in the first seven races: 2002, when Ward Burton and Sterling Marlin (2) combined to win three of the first five races. Dodge finished that year with seven wins -- two each by Burton, Marlin and Bill Elliott and one by Jamie McMurray.

Fast Facts

Inside the Numbers Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle Early 2005 Results   Kenseth Biffle Daytona 42 25 Fontana 26 1 Las Vegas 8 6 Atlanta 31 3 Bristol 16 9 Martinsville 11 29 Texas 18 1 Early 2006 Results   Kenseth Biffle Daytona 15 31 Fontana 1 42 Las Vegas 2 8 Atlanta 13 16 Bristol 3 7 Martinsville 24 31 Texas 2 42

• What a difference a year makes: Matt Kenseth's second-place finish at Texas was his fourth top-10 in eight races at the track, and his fourth top-five this season. He's now second in points; one year ago he was 21st after seven races.

• What a difference a year makes, Part Deux: Greg Biffle was 42nd on Sunday and now has finished 31st or worse in four of the seven races this season. He dropped from 18th to 23rd in points. A year ago he was second in the point standings.

• Denny Hamlin (fourth) and Martin Truex Jr. (eighth) both finished in the top 10, marking the first time two rookies finished in the top 10 since Phoenix on Nov. 13, 2005, when Kyle Busch won the race and Travis Kvapil finished 10th.

Up Next

Phoenix International Raceway | 8 p.m. ET, April 22 | FOX

• No driver has ever won from the pole in the 19 Cup races at Phoenix, and four of the past five races have been won from starting positions outside the top 10.

• Roush Racing has won five times at PIR, and there have been 16 different race winners. Only Davey Allison, Jeff Burton and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have two wins.

• Ford has won 12 of the 19 races at Phoenix, the most of all manufacturers. However, Chevrolet has won three of the past four races. Dodge has never won at Phoenix.

Mailbag

E-MAIL •   Send Duane your thoughts ...

Sorry folks, the mailman is on vacation -- and trying to recoup from daughter Reily's first birthday party. Sad thing is she outlasted the grown-ups and woke up with the chickens this a.m. ready for more. Maybe I'll wake up before my birthday on Wednesday.

Fantasy Perspective

• Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne and Mark Martin are the only drivers with five top-10 finishes in the first seven races, and Martin is the only driver with a top-15 finish in each race.

• Tony Stewart is the only driver to lead at least one lap in all seven races this season. He has earned 50 lap-leader bonus points -- 35 more than points leader Jimmie Johnson (15).

• Kurt Busch has four consecutive top-10 finishes at Phoenix, the longest current streak, while Mark Martin's 13 top-10s in 19 races is the most of all drivers who've started at PIR.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.