After disappointment at Atlanta, Busch almost out of time

Kyle Busch led early at Atlanta, but as the night cooled off, he fell back, possibly ending his Chase hopes. Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- After a successful Labor Day weekend race at Atlanta Motor Speedway that drew perhaps the track's biggest crowd this decade, the pressure to make the Chase is increasing on one of the biggest names in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing.

With one race remaining before the 12-driver field is set, for Kyle Busch, Saturday night's 400-lap race at Richmond will be the most important race of the season.

Busch is currently 14th in the standings, two positions out of the top 12 and 37 points behind Matt Kenseth for the final Chase position. Busch's most recent nemesis -- Brian Vickers -- is 13th in the standings and 20 points behind Kenseth.

Four drivers have already clinched a spot in the Chase, including points leader Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon three-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin. Carl Edwards and his broken foot, along with Sunday night's race winner Kasey Kahne are virtually in, essentially needing just to start Saturday night's race at Richmond. But from positions 7-14, that's where it gets tight.

Kyle's older brother Kurt is seventh in points and 95 ahead of 13th place followed by Juan Pablo Montoya (88 points ahead), Ryan Newman (81 points up) and 10th-place Mark Martin (69 points ahead of the 13th). Two Roush Fenway drivers are 11th and 12th with Greg Biffle 68 points ahead of the cutoff and this year's Daytona 500 winner Kenseth only 20 points from being eliminated.

After finishing 13th at Atlanta Sunday night, Busch did what he typically does when he has a poor finish -- he left the track without issuing a comment, leaving crew chief Steve Addington to speak on his behalf.

Addington, who is more adapt at cranking a wrench, determining a chassis setup and plotting fuel strategy than making excuses, realizes his team and driver has but one plan at Richmond. "To go win," Addington said. "We got to go there and win and let the chips fall where they may. We've been working hard -- nothing we can do now. We can't control what everybody else does; we can only control what we do."

Had Busch been able to score a top-five finish at Atlanta, it would have made his quest for the Chase much easier. Busch's Toyota even found the front of the field and led the race on four occasions before track temperatures cooled off as the race continued well into the night. Busch was last in front on lap 109 of the 326-lap race.

After that, he was never really a factor and at one point Sunday night brushed the wall. Busch was able to finish the race but the disappointment was obvious to the Joe Gibbs Racing crew.

'It didn't turn out the way we wanted it to -- everybody saw that."Addington said. "The start of the race there, the car was pretty decent. The track temps came down, we made adjustments and you saw it all across the board with the 48 [Jimmie Johnson] car. He was up there with us leading the race and then they went backwards. It was that way for a lot of people. The 9 [Kasey Kahne] car was real good all night long. The 29 [Kevin Harvick] hit on something and they were fast.

After a post-race spat between Busch and Vickers at Michigan following a Nationwide Series race in August, it's very fitting that Busch has to get past Vickers to have a chance at getting into the Chase.

"It's going to be a battle to the end, I'm sure," Vickers said after finishing seventh Sunday night. "It's going to be wild. I'm looking forward to it. We'd like to go into Richmond locked into the Chase, but to go in there even in contention, I think for a two-and-a-half-year-old team, says a lot."

Busch may have the benefit of teamwork this week as Joe Gibbs Racing focuses its efforts on getting Busch into the Chase now that Hamlin clinched a spot Sunday night.

"Right now, all of our resources are going to him to try to make sure [he makes the playoffs]," Hamlin said. "It's going to be a benefit to me if he makes the Chase. Yeah, it's going to be another guy that you're going to have to chase down in the point standings, but it's beneficial. If he is driving for points, I can take a lot of information he gives out versus if he doesn't and he just goes for race wins every week. There's not a whole lot we can take or a lot of strategy we can use off of him. So I need him in the Chase for us to be better."

While Busch was a man of few words after the race, he realized after his qualification attempt on Saturday the predicament that he finds himself in if he is going to be a relevant factor over the final 10 races of the season.

"We either make it or we don't," he said. "It's not these last races that are going to get us in the 'Chase.' It's the races that we've had this year that are going to set us out. We haven't been up to be where we need to be. We haven't quite had the race cars. I haven't quite been the driver behind the wheel I've needed to be. We've missed a little bit this year."

Busch understands the severity of the situation heading into Richmond. But the irony of it is if Busch is able to make the cut, he would start the Chase near the front of the standings based on the bonus points from his four victories -- which are tied with Mark Martin for the most this season.

In other words, if Busch gets into the top 12, he will be the leader at New Hampshire.

Talk about irony...