Cross' Words: Texas (cont'd)

Kyle, it's tough enough to be in the Busch fan club; you know it, your fans know it. Sunday was not one of your finer moments. Hopefully it'll be a different story at Phoenix. After all, you already know how to win there -- and then put the media in its place.

This, bud, is for you.

Junior drives 5

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is no stranger to rolling up his sleeves and helping out. That's exactly what he did Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.

• Complete story

Random ruminations after Texas ...

• Three weeks later and it's as if Mark Martin never left. His third-place finish at Texas was his fifth top-10 in as many starts and as a result Martin climbed four spots in the point standings to 11th.

• Kurt Busch cannot catch a break. He and interim crew chief Troy Raker made the most of a difficult weekend after crashing the primary, but an 11th-place finish doesn't do justice to the effort.

• Tony Raines' 13th-place finish was his first top-15 since Oct. 22 at Martinsville. Nice effort in front of the DLP home crowd. ... Now about that elephant?

• Clint Bowyer is living right. His streak of three consecutive top-15 finishes fell to the wayside but 16th ain't too shabby. He now has six top-20s in seven starts and moved up one spot to sixth in points.

• Juan Pablo -- Spanish for "high-speed impediment." I guess it's just his unusually magnetic personality.

Say what?

Q: "What did the car drive like?"
A: "Like it was wrecked."

-- Dale Earnhardt Jr., on driving the No. 5 Chevy, the first time that Junior has piloted a Cup car other than the No. 8

Figuratively speaking

1 -- David Stremme continues to do his thing, stay out of trouble and pile up the points. His 10th-place finish at Texas was the first in his 45-race career.

Up Next

Subway Fresh Fit 500 | Phoenix | 8 p.m. ET Saturday, FOX

Race No. 8 of 36 | Get your tickets | Book your travel

• Defending race winner: Kevin Harvick
• Most victories at the track: 2 -- Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick
• Best average finish (minimum five starts): Jimmie Johnson (7.7 in seven starts)
Active drivers only

Mailbag

An off week for Easter and a trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C., for the Ripken Experience allowed the inbox to overflow. Maintenance has been alerted and clean up is under way.

A lot of fans commented on the NASCAR A.E. piece and said today's racing just ain't the same as the good ol' days. ... Is anything?

Texas is sure to stoke the fires so let 'er rip and next week we'll get back to answering e-mail rants and raves. (Continued)