Sunoco Pit Move: The Glen

When Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s engine expired two-thirds of the way through Sunday's Centurion Boats at The Glen, it looked like Kurt Busch was going to make big gains in the Nextel Cup standings.

At that point, Busch was running second behind Jeff Gordon after starting the race 13th. However, knowing the No. 2 Dodge didn't have the fuel mileage required to make it to the finish line if the race remained green, crew chief Pat Tryson called for a stop on Lap 65.

It seemed like the right decision at the time: look at the big picture and take the conservative route to maximize your gain over your closest competition. But it quickly went terribly wrong.

On his way back to the track, Busch was tagged with a speeding penalty, which forced him to restart the race at the tail end of the longest line. Instead of having decent track position, Busch wound up 37th and would have to work his way through the pack to gain points on Earnhardt or teammate Ryan Newman.

"We were running second and had a car strong enough to win here [Sunday]," Busch said. "But the fuel mileage situation bit us again and we had to pit. Then, to top it off, we got a speeding penalty leaving the pits."

He was steadily working his way through the backmarkers over the next nine laps when all heck broke loose in Turn 1. As Juan Montoya and Kevin Harvick collided, Busch had to take evasive action, narrowly missing the accident that also claimed Jamie McMurray and Jeff Burton.

During the ensuing red flag to clean up the carnage, Busch was sitting in 23rd. He knew he had to gain ground on as many cars as possible, particularly ones ahead of him in the standings.

"When I looked up there before we went back to racing after they pulled the red flag and saw [Clint Bowyer] and [Martin Truex Jr.] in front of me," Busch said. "I knew I had to do all I could to try to get around those guys."

Busch made up five more spots before the final caution came out for P.J. Jones' spin into the gravel trap with 10 laps remaining. He then went from 18th to 11th -- passing Bowyer in the meantime -- to turn what could have been a disaster into a decent finish.

Coupled with Newman's 13th-place run and a 42nd-place finish for Junior, Busch now leads Newman by 96 points and Earnhardt by 100 in the fight over what could be the final spot in the Chase four races from now.

Still, Busch lamented about what might have been.

"I realize that it was a good day for us in the points and all, but it really gets frustrating when you have a car as strong as we did here [Sunday] and only get an 11th-place finish out of it," Busch said.

"I raced my guts out 'til the very end and we still only got an 11th out of it. We have to get this fuel mileage deal figured out. We absolutely have to. With the way things went here, we could have very well won the race. I know I'll calm down and see the big picture view of things later on, but it sure is frustrating to not finish any better."