Cross' Words: Texas

It goes something like this: Kyle Busch gets caught up in a wreck, tells the crew the day is done, parks the car and heads for the hills. The crew busts their humps and gets the ride ready to roll in time to possibly make up a few points. Alas, the driver is nowhere to be found; a "miscommunication," says crew chief Alan Gustafson.

Enter Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was slowing to avoid the spinning car of Tony Stewart and at the epicenter of the caution in which Busch was involved. Junior straps in, makes a few laps and chalks up three more points for the No. 5, which ironically finished 37th -- one spot behind Earnhardt and one spot in front of Jimmie Johnson.

A few things to consider:

• Send Duane your thoughts

• Do you want to be in a foxhole with Kyle Busch? The going gets tough and Busch gets going -- that's what his actions told his championship-caliber team on Sunday.

"He thought they weren't going to go back out so he left," Gustafson said. "There were a few laps left, they knew they could gain a position and gain three valuable points." That's the key: the crew knew. The driver, it seems, didn't really give a tinker's damn.

• Busch's action (or lack thereof) is another brick in the wall between old-school fans and nu-skool see-to-be-seen ticket buyers. Remember when drivers helped turn the wrenches, wield the hammers or weld the sheet metal? Instead, Busch's day can be summed up like this:

While riding in third on Lap 249 Busch had a front-row seat to the battle between his brother Kurt and Earnhardt, a Texas-sized clash of cold brews. When big bro took the lead, Kyle asked, "How's that Miller Lite taste? Tastes great." As it turned out, it was less filling -- kinda like Kyle's performance. Kurt eventually fell victim to pitting as a caution waved.

For his part, Junior didn't mind climbing into the No. 5. "They used to do that all the time back in the day," he said. "You'd have relief drivers getting into someone's car almost every week, so it was kinda like a step back into NASCAR history or something. Old school! It was cool."

• At Martinsville the story was Jeff Gordon didn't do enough to get past Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson in the closing laps. At Texas, Johnson lost three points because other Hendrick teammates did their jobs ... well, except one. (Continued)