Busch failed again in the second race in the Chase for the championship, his title chances up in smoke like his No. 18 Toyota as it limped off the track and was pushed into the garage for a premature finish. He finished 43rd at Dover International Speedway, and continued his plummet down the standings -- first to eighth to 12th.
"We're out of the title hunt, that's for sure," a glum Busch said. "So we'll just manage what we can."
Struck last week by a loose bolt on his sway bar, Busch was done in Sunday by a blown engine that all but ended his shot at a title. His car started smoking about 140 laps into the race and he kept driving about another 30 laps before he was forced to call it a day.
His crew feverishly worked on the car in the garage for nearly 30 minutes -- some members of Denny Hamlin's crew even pitched in to help the Joe Gibbs Racing teammate -- and it seemed Busch might give the race another try. Instead, he emerged from his hauler in street clothes and ready to concede his championship run is over.
"At this point, it doesn't matter," Busch said. "The same thing happened two years ago. The exact same thing. We wrecked at Loudon, blew up here. Where'd we end up? Dead last."
Busch finished 38th at New Hampshire and 40th at Dover to open the 2006 Chase. He ended the 10-race sprint for the title with consecutive 38th-place finishes and finished last in the 10-driver field.
Now, Busch is last again among all 12 drivers in the field, a whopping 212 points behind leader Carl Edwards.
Tony Stewart, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, said Busch needs to focus on winning races and not worry about his spot in the Chase.
"It's been a remarkable, record-setting year for that kid," Stewart said. "The best way to finish it off now is to go out there and win three or four races during the Chase."
Crew chief Steve Addington guessed a faulty spring valve could be the culprit.
"If anybody says anything about our engine department, tell them to come see me," Addington said.
Busch had been bulletproof all season en route to a Cup-best eight victories and 19 wins overall in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Trucks Series -- including a victory on the Monster Mile on Saturday in the Nationwide race. He entered the Chase expecting to win a title and would probably settle now with a top 10.
"We can take chances now and win races and show 'em it was just bad parts that got us," Addington said.
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JGR'S TOUGH DAY: Kyle Busch had some Joe Gibbs Racing company in the garage. Denny Hamlin's No. 11 Toyota needed work once a broken shaft forced him off the track. Hamlin finished 38th and dropped from a solid sixth to a disappointing 11th in the Chase points standings -- 193 points behind leader Carl Edwards.
The only driver in a worse spot is Busch.
"We lost a lot of Chase points," Hamlin said. "Every race in the Chase is so pivotal. We need to go back and run hard next week and put this behind us. It's time to move on to Kansas and work our way back up in the points."
Tony Stewart had the best finish of the JGR drivers. The two-time Cup champion was 11th making it the first time all season JGR didn't score a top-10 finish. Stewart maintained his seventh-place spot in the standings.
"I lost about six or seven spots on restarts, picking the wrong lane to go. But we got all those back," Stewart said. "Where we ended up was about where we deserved to be."
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STILL WINLESS: Jeff Gordon won the pole, but he couldn't take the checked flag.
Make it 28 races this year and counting without a win for the four-time Cup champion.
Gordon finished seventh at Dover International Speedway, good enough to bump him in the Chase points standings from 11th to eighth. He's still 118 points behind Carl Edwards and knows he needs to find a way into Victory Lane soon if he's going to make a serious push for championship No. 5.
"If you're going to be a threat for the championship, you've got to be up there leading laps and battling for the win," he said. "You're either the team to beat for the championship or you're a fifth-place car or a 10th-place car."
Spanish Debate: Who Will Be The Pichichi?
A glance at drivers in NASCAR’s championship chase
Edwards passes Kyle Busch for victory at Bristol
