Kyle Busch's '09 season is on the line at Richmond

The rule on slam dunks, all slam dunks, is that no matter how high and acrobatic they are, the ball must go through the hoop for them to count. Kyle Busch, who appeared to be a slam dunk to make this year's Chase when the season started, has yet to reach the rim.

He has one more chance to get there, but it sure appears he already has reached the apogee and will have to wait at least one more year to get the Cup championship that many thought would be his this year.

• Purchase tickets
• Book your travel

"Yeah," Busch said this week, "the pressure is on for sure."

The last chance and the pressure come in Saturday night's Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway. It's the final race before the start of the 12-driver, 10-race playoff that decides the series championship.

Busch will arrive at Richmond in double trouble: Trouble No. 1 is that he is 37 points out of 12th place and Trouble No. 2 is that he is in 14th place and will have to jump past two good teams and drivers to stick his landing.

Pressure? Guess so.

And the plan? Simple, if not easy.

"We just go to Richmond with this weekend's task at hand, try to do the best we can," Busch said. "Ultimately win the race if we can or get the best possible finish and try to get the most points out of there in order to get ourselves into the Chase."

Busch was the preseason list-topper to win the championship. His remarkable 2008 NASCAR season was an all-timer. He had eight victories in the Cup Series, and when he wasn't winning, he was threatening to win as he had an impressive 17 top-five finishes. (Continued)