DOVER, Del. -- Dime store psychologists might suggest Kyle Busch be placed on suicide watch after his 34th-place finish in last week's Chase opener at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where the driver watched his points lead transform into a 74-point deficit.

That kind of blow might drive the average man to drink. Not the case for Busch. He is more than sober preparing for the second Chase race at Dover International Speedway this weekend.

When the driver -- one known for his emotional outbursts and over-the-radio tongue lashings to his crew -- was asked how he maintains his sanity during the ups and downs of 2008's Chase for the Sprint Cup he answered quickly and flippantly.

"I didn't know I was insane," Busch retorted.

Well, Busch's mental capacity has always been up for debate among drivers in the garage, but his cerebral ability to deal with the pressure and pitfalls before him seems to be intact.

Yes, he was "devastated" after the No. 18 Toyota team was fraught with malfunctions and disasters last weekend, but his present attitude is business as usual.

"You go home and you relax a couple days," he said. "I had to test on Tuesday. I had an appearance on Wednesday. I had an appearance [Thursday]. Next week, I've got a test Tuesday and Wednesday, an appearance Thursday -- so there's no time to really do anything else besides work."

Indeed, and perhaps that is the driver's way of coping: Throw yourself into your work.

Year-round, NASCAR drivers deal with pressure -- from their team owners, sponsors and, most of all, themselves.

But when the Chase starts, one can assume pressure mounts, anxiety heightens and drivers live on the edge for 10 weeks. (Continued)