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FONTANA, Calif. — Top-five finishes might not be good enough to help Juan Pablo Montoya win the Sprint Cup championship.

The only driver to finish in the top five in each of the four Chase races, Montoya's inability to win this season keeps him behind. He's had chances and missed out. Sunday, he led 78 laps, second only to race winner Jimmie Johnson leading 126 laps, but finished third at Auto Club Speedway.

Montoya, though, won't get down.

"If you asked me, asked anybody, asked yourself, did you think we were going to be this competitive when the Chase started? No," said Montoya, in his third full season of Cup. "We just wanted to make the Chase. We played our strategy to make the Chase.

"I'm driving the car a lot better. I understand the car a lot better. Just something clicked."

STRONG RECOVERY: Tony Stewart overcame a pit road speeding penalty to finish fifth. He remains fourth in the standings, 84 points behind series leader Jimmie Johnson.

"It was making chicken salad out of chicken," Stewart said of his finish.

Stewart fell a lap behind the leaders after his speeding violation with about 85 laps to go. A couple of late-race incidents helped him gain some spots and score a top-five finish.

"We were pretty fortunate to get a couple of breaks there when we needed them," he said. "We just had to fight for the track position there at the end."

A LITTLE HELP: David Gilliland relieved an ailing Kyle Busch on Sunday and finished 24th in Busch's car. Busch has been sick all weekend — he was relieved during Saturday's Nationwide race also.

"I'm not feeling well," Busch said after exiting his Cup car on lap 62 of Sunday's race. "I was coughing real bad out there. We've been fighting it for several days.

"I'm sorry I had to get out."

FRUSTRATED: Kasey Kahne was among those collected in a multi-car crash at the end but suggested his problems started with a debris caution 15 laps from the finish that bunched the field.

"NASCAR threw a debris caution for no debris," Kahne told ABC during the broadcast. "That was a caution to put a show on for fans. Sometimes, it ruins people's days. Today, it was ours."

Kahne finished 34th.

Asked if he saw debris during the debris cautions, Juan Pablo Montoya said: "I never pay attention unless they tell me there's a door or a bumper in the middle of the road."

Montoya also noted that any debris can cause a problem. He said he got a flat tire at Bristol after running over a washer.

DANICA MANIA: Who Danica Patrick races for in select events next season remains unsettled even with expectations that a ride with JR Motorsports might seem to be the best.

Hold on, says Ty Norris, vice president and general manager of Michael Waltrip Racing. Waltrip's team has had talks with Patrick and her representatives and Norris says team officials talked with Patrick's side as recently as last week.

"From a manufacturer's standpoint, I think we're in a great position where there potentially may be more support," Norris said of the advantages of partnering with Waltrip's team. "A Danica program just like the Trevor Bayne program, she could become a primary focus. (Hendrick) has a lot of premium drivers, programs to focus on, so I think we're just in good position from that standpoint."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. says that his sister, Kelley, has had conversations with Patrick's representatives.

PIT STOPS: The top six finishers — and seven of the top 10 were Chase drivers. &ellipses; Richard Childress Racing had three cars finish in the top 11 with Clint Bowyer ninth, Kevin Harvick 10th and Casey Mears 11th. &ellipses; Matt Kenseth, who won the February race at this track, finished 13th.

Contact Dustin Long at 373-7062 or dustin.long@news-record.com