ANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Fernandez Racing teammates Scott Sharp and Kosuke Matsuura posted top-10 finishes in the Bombardier Learjet 500k at Texas Motor Speedway, are solidly in the top 10 in the standings, and have some of their stronger racetracks yet to come on the schedule.

“I am just really happy,” Sharp said.

The IndyCar Series veteran should be.

Sharp, a two-time winner in 16 starts on the 1.5-mile oval, advanced two positions for his fourth top 10 (and highest) finish of the season. He closed on the lead pack in the final stages of the 200-lap lap under the lights and passed Vitor Meira’s No. 4 Panther Racing car (which coasted to the line after exhausting its fuel) for fifth.

“I felt that, hopefully, this would be a race that could start to lead us off on a bit of a run and turns things around a little bit for us this year,” said Sharp, driver of the No. 8 Delphi Dallara/Honda/Firestone. “It hasn’t been a struggle, but the results and the speed have been slow to come as quickly as we wanted.

“(John Dick, race engineer) and the guys did a great job all weekend, and we were competitive. We qualified seventh and practiced well. I think this (result) was everything we had. If you look at the four cars ahead of us, it would be tough at the moment for us to beat them. That’s not to say that we are not going to keep trying. I am pleased where we are.”

Matsuura is one spot lower in the standings after his eighth place in the No. 55 Panasonic ARTA Dallara/Honda/Firestone. It was his fourth top eight, and his best finish at the high-banked Texas Motor Speedway.

“I was excited because a lot of drivers were struggling with handling but my car seemed to be a little better than the rest of the drivers and I was able to jump up to fourth place,” he said. “We have to work on closing the gap to the Penske and Ganassi guys. We are close, and I am looking forward to the next race in Richmond.”

After participating in a Firestone tire test at Kansas Speedway on June 12, Sharp will regroup for back-to-back weekend races at Richmond and Kansas. Matsuura participated in the Open Test the next day on the 1.5-mile oval that will host the Kansas Lottery Indy 300 on July 2.