Reiser, Francis return to pit box after suspensions (cont'd)

"It's been stressful," Francis said. "Very stressful."

His absence clearly didn't help.

Q&A: Robbie Reiser

Robbie Reiser returns to No. 17 team with the Car of Tomorrow at Bristol Motor Speedway. But Matt Kenseth's crew chief doesn't think the COT changes things that much.

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"It's been a part of it," Kahne said of the team's slow start, "but it's not the reason why we're where we're at. Things happened, and we've had some things wrong, but we've had some good cars and we should be much better in the points than where we're at. We've just had some bad breaks."

Friday was a good start. Kahne qualified second for Sunday's Food City 500 behind pole-winner Jeff Gordon, with Evernham Motorsports teammate Elliott Sadler in third.

"You want your 'A' guys all the time, and Kenny's an 'A' guy," team owner Ray Evernham said. "If nothing else, mentally, it gives them some more confidence. If you're playing with a backup quarterback, the guy could be doing a good job for you and you still could be winning games, but when the lead quarterback comes back, he gives you a little bit of confidence. Keith Rodden did a great job for us, but I think people are just a little bit more confident. Kasey is probably a little more settled down with Kenny being here."

Reiser returns to a road crew that hardly missed a beat in his absence.

"Who's the new guy?" Kenseth ribbed when he met with his crew Friday morning. The suspension taught Reiser just how deep his No. 17 team is. And it showed Kenseth how much his crew chief, who not too long ago considered taking a management position within the Roush organization, really loves his job.

"I think Robbie has always given 100 percent and always worked as hard as he could, but I think the last few years in the back of his mind he's thought, 'Oh man. I need to get off the road. This is a grind. The schedule is too long. I'd like to have a couple more off weekends,'" Kenseth said.

"You start thinking like that, and then I think once you're stuck at home for four weeks and you can't get to the track, you're like, 'Man, that's really what I love to do. That's what I've always done. That's what I know how to do. I don't really know how to act right now being home for an extra four weeks.'

"So I think being away made him appreciate being here more. I think it made him want to be back here more. I think it kind of gave him more of an appreciation for what we get to do, and being able to do what he loves for a living and for a career. Certainly I have no indication that he liked being at home more than he likes being at the racetrack, and he wants to stay there. I certainly can tell that he couldn't wait to get back to the track."