Busch strong at Michigan, eyes upcoming stretch (cont'd)

Infineon Raceway is one of those head-scratchers for Busch. He's started no worse than sixth six times in nine career starts at the road course in the Sonoma foothills. And yet, Busch has struggled, particularly in the past three seasons, with finishes of 22nd, 32nd and 15th.

Busch concedes it's not due to lack of effort.

"It's amazing how much effort we put into road-course racing, yet we only go there twice a year," Busch said. "I feel like at Penske, we have a very strong car. It's advanced itself since last year, with carrying more right-side weight, weight lower in the race car.

"... We've had good qualifying cars in the past at Penske. In the race, seemed to lack a little bit of that forward bite, that grip coming off the corners, which is important at Sonoma. We have all that horsepower. We have to stay out there so long on the last tank of gas, that's where the key to the race is, is maintaining that grip, staying out there as long as you can on a tank of gas."

Even with a few stumbles, Busch feels good about where he is in the standings. But if there's a concern, it's keeping positive momentum.

"We feel comfortable right now with our points situation," Busch said. "But we still want to have some consistent runs to back up any mistakes that could pop up, whether it's missing the setup, getting caught up in a wreck. These next few weeks, the variety of race tracks, we have to continue to explore new ideas. I think that always makes you stronger when you're knocking more things off your checklist."

And on that checklist is the race at New Hampshire in two weeks, a track that will kick off the Chase for the Sprint Cup in September.

"That's how you get off to a good start in the Chase," Busch said. "Then there's those bulk of mile-and-a-halfs that are in the Chase. Chicago tells you a little bit. Atlanta is what Atlanta is because it chews up tires so bad.

"For us, we have to look at Dover, see what we can do to be better there. Martinsville has always been a struggle for me. Then we go to Talladega in the Chase."

But before Busch can even think about how the Chase will shake out, he said complacency would be the worst thing that could happen to his outfit.

"Things change so fast in this sport," Busch said. "You can be onto something like I think we are with this Miller Lite team.

"In three months when the Chase starts, we could be scratching our heads. 'Where did our speed go?' This next stretch, it's a lot of fun, the variety of races, the action that happens out on the track, some guys are going to start feeling the pressure of not being comfortable in the Chase, then there's going to be those guys pushing hard to get those wins."

Guys like Denny Hamlin, who recorded his fifth victory since the spoiler replaced the rear wing on the current chassis. But Busch isn't willing to single out one championship favorite just yet.

"I mean, Gibbs is running strong," Busch said. "Jeff Gordon said out there [Sunday] that Hendrick is not the top team. It's like, 'Come on, Jeff, it's going to be all right, buddy, you finished fourth.' Right now everybody is in this game. Nobody is going to separate themselves anytime soon. I see the competition right now the most equal it's been in years."

So it's on to Sonoma. And for Busch, a chance to work on more than just a summer tan.

"The summer run right now, it's important to continue on with good, solid finishes," Busch said. "It's also important when you have a car to win, like what we had [Sunday], to be able to pull that thing into Victory Lane and get those 10 bonus points."