Turning Point

	Kurt Busch stayed ahead of veteran Rusty Wallace for most of the race. Doug Pensinger /Getty Images

For most of the afternoon, Kurt Busch had been the class of the field at Pocono, and he was leading the race when the caution flag came out with three laps to go. The only way Busch was going to lose this race was if he flubbed his final restart. He didn't. He pulled away from the field on the green-white-checker restart and cruised to his second victory of the season.

Two days before the race, Busch saw this coming. I was hanging out with him in his hauler on Friday when he grinned and said, "I love the position we're in right now. Nobody seems to paying attention to us, just like last year at this time. Things are coming together for us." Busch then winked. Are we seeing a replay of the Busch's 2004 championship season? Perhaps.

Driver Who Impressed Me

Two drivers did: Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin. The best action of the race took place as the final laps wound down and Wallace battled Martin for second place. The two veterans showed some serious spunk as they dueled for position. Martin darted high and low trying to pass Wallace's Miller Lite Dodge, but Wallace was able to successfully block all of Martin's attempts. Wallace finished second while Martin came in third.

For the season, Wallace is now fourth in the points standings; Martin is seventh. It's looking more and more like both of these graybeards will be serious contenders for the title.

From Pit Row

For the next six races, all eyes will be focused on two drivers trying desperately to qualify for the Chase: Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. On Sunday, Gordon held steady -- he came in 13th and is currently 15th in the points standings -- while Junior's Chase hopes took a major hit. Junior fell down two laps early because of an untimely caution and a speeding violation on pit road and wound up 32nd. He's now in 14th place in the standings and 110 points out of 10th place. One positive for Earnhardt: By the end of the afternoon, the Budweiser Chevy was turning extremely fast laps. The team will bring the same chassis to Indy in two weeks, and Junior should be able to run with leaders at the Brickyard.

"We passed the second-place car, and then ran away from him [late in the race]," Earnhardt said after the race. "So if you paid real close attention to what happened today -- well, I don't know if I can explain it -- but we'll be OK. We got some stuff figured out today that really helped the car. I can't wait for Indy."

Racing On

After 17 straight weeks of racing, the Cup boys will take a much-needed break next week. The circuit will resume racing Aug. 7 at the Brickyard in Indy. You heard it here first: Tony Stewart will be scaling the track's fence after he wins his first-ever race in Indy.