Richmond holds the key to Busch and Vickers season

September 12, 12:50 PMKyle Busch ExaminerKathryn Lindamood

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Kyle must gain 17 pts on Vickers and 37 on Kenseth (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

He may be down, but he's not out. He may have to claw his way into the top 12, but there is still hope for Kyle Busch, at least for the next few hours.

It's been a roller coaster of a season for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. Starting the season on a high note, Busch pulled off two wins in the first five races including a win at his home track in Las Vegas.

Following the May 2 win Busch didn't visit victory lane again until August 22 when the series returned to Bristol. During that stretch Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, and Mark Martin found their stride winning eight of the 13 races and making up considerable ground in the points.

With only four drivers locked into the Chase the chances of Vickers and/or Busch making it aren't impossible. However, considering how tight the points have been all season long both drivers are going to have to fight tooth and nail for the coveted 12th spot.

Busch who will be starting the race from 8th, counts Richmond among his favorite tracks. In only nine starts Busch has visited victory lane once, racked up seven top 10 finishes, and led 398 laps. Vickers on the other hand will be starting 6th in Saturday's race. Vickers has visited Richmond 10 times, has no victories, two poles, one top 10 finish, and has led 54 laps.

The bad news for both drivers is that they could win and lead the most laps but still not make the chase. To make their way into the 12th and final spot Vickers would need to gain 21 points on 12th place Matt Kenseth. Busch would need to gain 17 points on Vickers and 37 points on Kenseth.  It's not an impossible feat to accomplish but Kenseth isn't going to make it easy on either.