FONTANA, Calif. -- Jimmie Johnson already sees the impact Kyle Busch is making at Joe Gibbs Racing this season.

"I think he's going to make Tony [Stewart] and Denny [Hamlin] drive differently, drive harder, elevate the status of that Gibbs organization on his own,'' Johnson said after Busch placed fourth on Monday at Auto Club Speedway.

Busch, who joined Gibbs' team this season, left California as the points leader in both the truck and Cup series.

Busch was strong Sunday night but not as good Monday when the race resumed after being delayed by rain. Still, he scored his second consecutive top-five finish this season.

"Unfortunately, we didn't have quite the car to get up there and contend with those boys at the end, but overall a good day and that's all we can ask for,'' Busch said.

Although a brush with the wall affected the handling of Busch's car, crew chief Steve Addington said he could have done more to help his driver.

"It's a new team, new driver, new crew chief. We're trying to learn and I couldn't tell by the tone of his voice how loose he was,'' Addington said.

Such communication between driver and crew chief should improve as the season progresses and that could make Busch more difficult to beat later this season.

Tough day

Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman finished 10th but never really challenged to win.

"The car was just OK,'' he said. "At times, we were a seventh-place car and at other times we were a 15th-place car. If you average it out, I think we did a little bit better than we could have.''

Good finish

Robby Gordon's 18th-place finish might not seem impressive but it was critical after NASCAR penalized him 100 points this week for an infraction at Daytona.

The penalty, which will be appealed, dropped Gordon to 40th in the points Gordon's finish Monday helped him climb to 32nd in the points.

"We're going to get our points back, I think that's the most important thing,'' Gordon said. "That [32nd] is still not a representation of where our car is running. Our car is a top-15 car.''

Fitting in?

Former crew chief Robbie Reiser, who now oversees Roush Fenway Racing's Cup program, told ESPN.com last week that he doesn't like his new role as general manager.

Car owner Jack Roush was asked about Reiser's comments Monday.

"He's not yet got comfortable with his new job,'' Roush said. "One of the things that happens is that between the driver and me, there's a crew chief. [He] would intercede for the driver and, by the same token, the driver would intercede for the crew chief if things aren't as they might be.

"Right now, it's Robbie and I. There's no buffer. Some days I think that may be not as comfortable as what he had.

"He's got a real big job. He's doing a good job at it. If he had a choice today between going back and being a crew chief and being a manager, he'd probably go back, but we're not going to give him that choice.''

Pit stops

The race featured a track record 33 lead changes. ... Roush Fenway Racing placed four of its five drivers in the top 15 with Carl Edwards first, Matt Kenseth fifth, David Ragan 14th and Greg Biffle 15th. Teammate Jamie McMurray placed 22nd. ... Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 40th after being collected in a crash with teammate Casey Mears (42nd) on Sunday. ... Bill Elliott finished 26th for the Wood Brothers in their first race of the season after they failed to qualify for the Daytona 500.