Busch isn't buying it.
Standing by comments he made after blowing an engine at Dover last week, Busch said Friday that he still doesn't think there's much chance of making up the ground he'll need to win the title.
"Here's how I look at it: you can't count on anybody else having a bad race," Busch said outside his hauler at Kansas Speedway. "Realistically, we're out of it."
Busch won eight races to win the "regular-season" points title, then finished 34th in the first race of the Chase in New Hampshire because of a failed suspension part. He followed that with a 43rd finish last week in Dover after his engine blew up, leaving him 210 points behind Chase leader Carl Edwards.
Busch declared his title chances over after the second straight mechanical breakdown, though crew chief Steve Addington wasn't so quick to give up, saying Thursday that "We're down, but we're not dead yet."
Busch still wasn't as optimistic, saying the only chance they have is to win out and have leaders like Edwards and Greg Biffle finish poorly each week.
In other words, he doesn't think it's possible.
"It depends on who has a bad race, how bad the race was for us to get back in it," Busch said. "But realistically, if you're not counting on those guys having a bad race, we can't win eight races in a row and have Carl or Biffle finish fifth through 10th every single one of those and still win the deal. It ain't going to happen."
So does that mean Busch has given up? Not a chance. The guy hates to lose a lead much less a race, so he'll continue to push hard.
"I'm going to do the same thing I've done all year long -- that's not going to change," he said. "Everybody says I gave up. I haven't given up. I'm still going out there to run as hard as I have every single lap to try and win this thing, but realistically the chances aren't there."
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ALLMENDINGER'S FAREWELL: AJ Allmendinger's two-year run with Red Bull Racing is over after this season, possibly after this weekend's race at Kansas Speedway.
So what's next?
Allmendinger could return to his roots, get back into an open-wheel car. He raced on the Champ Car circuit for three years and has gotten word of potential offers from IndyCar teams.
It's always an option, but that's not what Allmendinger wants.
"We all know what's out there right now for rides," he said. "I definitely want to stay in Cup. I've got offers to go back to IndyCar, possibly, but I've clawed and scratched way too long and felt like my life was ending so many times over the last year and half that to finally get this and running up front, I don't want to give up on that."
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HOMETOWN HEROES: Clint Bowyer says he feels pressure to do well in races at Kansas Speedway, which is less than two hours away from his hometown of Emporia, Kan.
Carl Edwards doesn't feel that same kind of pressure racing in front of family and friends. The driver from Columbia, Mo., relishes the chance to win with hometown fans looking on, counting his 2004 win in a Craftsman Truck Series race among his favorite memories.
"I wouldn't say I'm stressed out here -- I just look at it as a really good opportunity to run well in front of people I know and who have helped me," Edwards said. "The win here in the trucks was huge and I know when I go out there on Sunday there will be a lot of people out there I know, I grew up with or helped me up there in the grandstands. To win the Cup race here in Kansas, that would be the biggest win on the schedule."
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BARRETT MOVING: Former movie stuntman and current Nationwide driver Stanton Barrett is making the move to IndyCar, teaming up with Beck Motorsports to run a full schedule next year.
It's been a long road getting there.
The 36-year-old got his start in NASCAR in 1992 with the Busch series and has bounced around since, occasionally running his own team when sponsorships fell through. Barrett, son of a former Winston Cup driver, has competed in 22 Sprint Cup races in 16 years and 169 in the Nationwide Series, failing to win a race on either circuit.
"It's been very difficult, (running) your own team off and on, and just keeping inventive to be able to keep a race team on the track and be able to drive," Barrett said. "There's thousands of drivers out there and not a lot of opportunities, and I feel like those opportunities have happened through hard work and creativity. It's a continual struggle."
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