Thanks to Kansas, the '09 Chase became best Chase (cont'd)

Just saying

The best radio exchange, which also proved the respect crew chief Brian Pattie and driver Juan Montoya have for each other, came with about 30 laps remaining, when Montoya was complaining about his car's handling.

Pattie begged him to look at the big picture and keep trying, to which Montoya replied, "You wouldn't be saying that if you were driving this." Without hesitating Pattie cracked, "That's why you get paid to drive."

Keep an eye on

Juan Montoya is the only Chase driver to finish in the top five in the past three races. Duane Cross says the question isn't if Montoya can win the title -- it's will he?

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Montoya restarted eighth with 26 laps to go and finished fourth, which prompted Pattie to say post-race that his driver "never lost focus" after Pattie used "code words" to get him motivated.

One more bit of proof that they're legitimate Chase contenders.

Stewart being Stewart

The first thing Tony Stewart said when a TV microphone was shoved in his face Sunday evening after his Price Chopper 400 win was, "Damn right I can win a dirt late model race tonight."

Post-race media obligations made Stewart's prediction that he'd be late to Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway for the Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals true -- but it also proved the grit of Stewart and his teams.

Neither Stewart nor Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Ryan Newman participated in time trials or any heats at Knoxville, but they had a hot lap session and were provisional starts in the A Main.

Stewart blew up on his last hot lap, his crew busted out an engine change and he made the feature lineup in 27th. He raced to seventh, then according to at least one media report, "declined to be interviewed." Newman finished 22nd.

Labonte's heartache

TRG Motorsports pulled another rabbit out of its hat by signing Mahindra Tractors as the sponsor for Bobby Labonte's No. 71 Chevrolet in Sunday's Cup race, but despite the chassis being the newest in the TRG fleet, it all went for naught when Labonte got tied up in the five-car melee caused by Paul Menard's early Turn 2 spin.

Team owner Kevin Buckler said his organization was already talking to Mahindra about some other upcoming deals, so stay tuned.

Kyle Busch Victory Watch

Kansas was the latest low blow for Busch, who dominated another Nationwide race, only to see it slip away with less than 10 laps to go -- for the fourth time this season -- and at the hands of none other than Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano.

"I suck," Busch spat into his radio, which was relayed to the world via ESPN. I beg to differ. Shrub does NOT suck -- Logano is just that good. The more troubling aspect of the weekend is that Busch and Steve Addington were able to make very little good happen in the Cup Series.

So we repeat the phrase, the only plus in Busch's chase to eclipse his 2008 record total of 21 wins (8 Cup, 10 Nationwide, 3 Truck), is that he has plenty of opportunities left to do it -- like another doubleheader this weekend at Auto Club Speedway, where Busch won twice a year ago.

Right now, Busch remains at 15 wins: 4 Cup, 6 Nationwide, 5 Truck. At this point last year Busch was at 19: 8 Cup, 8 Nationwide, 3 Truck, so the biggest question remains -- can they get the Cup program back up to speed?

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.