Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota, stands by his car prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. (Photo: Getty Images)

7. KYLE BUSCH, Joe Gibbs Racing, 13th — The Shrub got bitten in the backside by the fuel mileage thing, the same way his teammate Hamlin did. He ran much, much better than his finishing position indicated. 6,115 points.

8. GREG BIFFLE, Roush Fenway Racing, 5th — Although Biffle’s car was nowhere near as fast as it was the week before at Texas Motor Speedway, he still was able to capture his second consecutive top-five finish and gain a spot in the points. 6,113 points.

9. TONY STEWART, Stewart-Haas Racing, 17th — He ran in the top-five briefly, but Stewart faded badly at the end of the race, winding up with a disappointing finish. 6,074 points.

10. KURT BUSCH, Penske Racing, 9th — The penultimate race for Busch in the Blue Deuce was OK, but not spectacular. A top 10 result was good for the Penske squad, though hardly remarkable.6,033 points.

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11. CLINT BOWYER, Richard Childress Racing, 21st — Caught in an early incident that damaged his RCR Chevrolet, Bowyer really had no opportunity to play a role in the outcome of the race. 6,028 points.

12. JEFF BURTON, Richard Childress Racing, 19th — Another loser in the fuel-mileage gamble, Burton fell from the top five to the bottom of the top 20 of the race.5,958 points.

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.