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.

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"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.

But it was his overall driving talent that made him a popular pick to take ownership of 2009. He won 10 races in the Nationwide Series and three more in the Camping World Truck Series.

Busch, who entered last year's Chase as the top seed, quickly fell off in the playoffs and wound up 10th. But his troubles in the final 10 races were not connected to a lack of driving skill, and when it came time to assemble a roll of favorites for this season, there was Busch at or near the top.

It's not as if Busch has stunk this season. He has four victories, which ties him with Mark Martin as leader in that category.

But Busch has only two other top-five finishes and has two DNFs. In a series that has a point system rewarding consistency, those are blighted numbers.

What happened? Racing happened, Busch said.

"Every season's different, that's for sure," he said. "This season, the way it's gone, has kind of been a struggle. But, you know, a lot of people picked us to be the champions this year because of the year we had last year. We fell off in the Chase a little bit.

"But for some reason we just haven't been able to hit our stride. We need to get back to being able to be consistent week in and week out. Even during a race, being consistent.

"This past weekend at Atlanta, we were really, really good the first four runs of the race, and then we kept getting looser and looser all night. I kept falling back a little bit. At the end of the race we got tight. We just couldn't keep up with the race track the way we needed to do. It didn't work out for us."

While Richmond represents Busch's last chance to salvage a berth in the Chase, it also represents a good chance.

In nine races at Richmond, Busch has an average finish of 6.1. Seven times he has finished in the top five. His confidence is high for a good finish Saturday night.

"Fortunately we won the Richmond race in the spring there, so we feel like we can go back there and do well," Busch said. "I'd run well there about every time I've been there. If we have another good, solid run, like a top-10, a top-five run, we really don't need to change anything. During the race, we'll have to do everything we can to try to win the race."

FIVE TO WATCH

Stewart

Tony Stewart, No. 14: Stewart does not need a good finish or a finish at all to make the Chase. But he would love to build some momentum for the Chase and also add some bonus points. He will be driving hard.

Matt Kenseth, No. 17: Mr. Consistency needs to be Mr. Stay Out Of Trouble. He is 12th in points and hanging on by one hand. One dropped lug nut, one flat-spotted tire, one too few French fries for lunch and he will miss the Chase.

Brian Vickers, No 83: It's a one-race season for Vickers and Red Bull. They need a top-10 and some help if they are going to move up from their current 13th-place spot in the standings. He should be a pole threat.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88: The Junior watch continues. He has no shot at making the Chase, but for Earnhardt and crew chief Lance McGrew, this is 2010. Earnhardt is a three-time winner at Richmond.

Carl Edwards, No. 99: If Kyle Busch was the hip No. 1 pick to win this year's championship, Edwards was No. 1A. He has no victories, but his hopes are far from over. A victory at Richmond could be a big step in his 11-step recovery program.

TRACK CHATTER

Vickers

Brian Vickers: "It's been an up and down track for us. I have two poles there, but I haven't won a race there. I like Richmond -- it's a good race track and I enjoy racing there. I would like to have the average finish there to be the average that I have at some tracks going into this race for the Chase. We just need to go there and repeat the same thing we did earlier this year, which was get the pole and then find a race package that works for us."

Richard Petty: "We need to get Kasey [Kahne] a spot in the Chase on Saturday, and then we need to get him on a roll once the Chase starts. If we can do that we can be a factor. I don't get into who's going to be the favorite and all that, but I'll say if the No. 9 can race like it did [at Atlanta] and get the pit stops like they did ... then if circumstances fall right they'll be a match for anyone. Circumstances decide a lot in this sport."

Kurt Busch: "The overwhelming attitude for a lot of teams will be to do whatever it takes to win there on Saturday night. We're still in that group looking to clinch a Chase spot, so we'll have to continuously be looking at the points situation throughout the race. Hopefully we can put ourselves in a position up front to really go after a win at the end of the race."