For struggling Busch, much of the pressure is within

Kyle Busch is pondering the unthinkable -- what if he doesn't make the Chase?

"I've thought about it," the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said. "You know, if you don't make the Chase, then ultimately you run the rest of the year for nothing. I guess it's a building block for next year, but that's about it."

Busch has won three times this season on the Cup tour, but a spate of mediocre finishes -- he's placed in the top 10 just once in his last nine starts -- have him on the outside looking in with five races remaining until the playoff field is determined. What a contrast that is to this time last year, when Busch went to Watkins Glen International and recorded his eighth victory of the season, clearly asserting himself as the driver to beat for the championship. Parts failures and engine trouble derailed that effort almost as soon as the Chase began.

Now Busch comes back to Watkins Glen, where he completed a 2008 road course sweep, clearly in need of momentum. He's currently 101 points behind Greg Biffle for the 12th and final playoff spot. Does he think he can get in?

"I'm hoping so, but I'm not going to say we are," Busch told reporters following a Goodyear tire test at Dover International Speedway on Tuesday. "But we are really working hard to be in the Chase. If we turn things around and start running better, then yeah, we're going to be in the Chase. If we keep running the way we have been this year, then no, we will not be there. It all comes down to performance and how you finish on Sunday and the points you get."

It's been a challenging year for Busch, in more ways than one. His uncharacteristic on-track troubles have led to some soul-searching, and the admission at Indianapolis Motor Speedway two weeks ago that he needed to become a better person and team leader. He's still working toward that end.

"Rome wasn't built in a day, but we're working on making progress and making some changes," he said. "But the biggest thing is, and I think a lot of it is, I fight myself throughout a race instead of more so fighting the car. When you explain things to the crew chief instead of just saying, 'Man, this thing is junk,' well they don't know how to fix junk.

"They can fix loose and tighten it in the center, they can fix whatever you explain, so it's progress of not getting frustrated on the radio or whatever, because it's so easy for me to do. Because we always like to be the guy going forward, and lately I'm the guy going backward. Man, it's not much fun. So it's a struggle for me, and ultimately me becoming a better leader to help take the team to the next level. So there's a struggle in the rest of the day to try and work towards something and gather a better day out of a bad day." (Continued)