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.

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)
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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.

Six of one ...
Drivers with momentum heading to Phoenix:

1. Jeff Gordon -- Another top-five (his fifth in the past six races) but he's feeling the heat.

2. Jeff Burton -- His victory was the first repeat performance at Texas. ... I told you so!

3. Mark Martin -- Could he pick 'n' choose his way into the Chase? If so, expect another tweak to the system.

4. Carl Edwards -- He hasn't finished lower than 17th in his past five starts.

5. Brian Vickers -- Three top-15s in four starts ... and if he qualifies at Phoenix -- watch out.

6. Kasey Kahne -- With much expected of the No. 9 team is a top-20 finish reason to get excited? Yup.

Half a dozen of the other ...
And six drivers who need a jump start:

1. J.J. Yeley -- Was 43rd at Texas and Phoenix hasn't been his cup o' tea (24.0 average finish in two races).

2. Elliott Sadler -- Is still only 23 points behind 12th place but needs better than mere top-20s to make a run.

3. Kyle Busch -- Was a beast in the desert in 2005. Did a 180 in '06. Will the sands of time change again?

4. Ryan Newman -- Would you believe he has only three lead-lap finishes this year?

5. Dave Blaney -- He was supposed to have been Toyota's best chance each week. He doesn't even have a lead-lap finish.

6. Michael Waltrip -- It's been a long time since Feb. 18. Maybe his homework is on "How I spent my St. Patrick's Day / April Fool's Day / Spring Break / Easter / Tax Return vacation."

Feel the power

Three names you'll see in the Power Rankings' top 10 on Wednesday:

8. Carl Edwards -- There was a girl knocking at his door all night at Texas. He finally let her out.

9. Kyle Busch -- Learn from Bart Simpson: They are laughing at me, not with me.

10. Jamie McMurray -- After Mac took out two huge divots on the golf course, two ants climbed on top of his ball: "Let's get up here before we get killed!"

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.