LONG POND, Pa. -- Juan Montoya and Kasey Kahne had the kind of finishes in Monday's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 that continue to solidify their chances of gaining one of the 12 slots in the Chase. Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers had the kind of finishes that kept their hopes alive for at least another week. And David Reutimann had the kind of finish that leaves a driver without comment at the end of the day.

“

Let's get into the Chase and then let's have some fun. I think we've got fast race cars. I think we're just starting to push more the envelope with everything we do. I think if we make it, we might have a shot at this.

”

-- JUAN MONTOYA

With his runner-up finish, Montoya jumped two spots and is now eighth in the standings, with a 169-point cushion between himself and 13th-place Kyle Busch. That's just 11 points behind seventh-place Kahne, who has now posted five top-10 finishes in the six starts since his win at Sonoma.

In what turned out to be a stroke of genius, crew chief Brian Pattie brought Montoya onto pit road for a final round of service on Lap 166, just as NASCAR threw the caution for debris (watch video). It allowed Montoya to remain in cleaner air, which helped the handling of his No. 42 Chevrolet in the closing laps.

It looked as if Montoya might have something for eventual winner Denny Hamlin at the end, but Montoya admitted victories are great but making the Chase is the greater goal.

"That's the bigger picture," Montoya said. "If I make the Chase, they won't remember this guy won the race, this one didn't. [Kyle Busch] won three races this year. He's probably like 150 points out or something. You know what I mean? They won't be talking that he won three races. They'll be talking he didn't make the Chase."

Montoya said he and Pattie are staying within their game plan.

"Let's get into the Chase and then let's have some fun," he said. "I think we've got fast race cars. I think we're just starting to push more the envelope with everything we do. I think if we make it, we might have a shot at this."

Kahne had another solid day, leading twice for 35 laps and staying among the leaders for most of the race. He was as high as third with 20 laps remaining but was passed by Hamlin and Montoya following the final restart. (Continued)