I mention this because that's what happened Sunday at New Hampshire to Kyle Busch and his crew chief Steve Addington.

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News:

• Sources: Sadler set to return to No. 19
• Petty, Gillett Evernham to merge
• Chevy to remain Daytona sponsor
• Owner reaches deal on fraud charges
• Logano to defend All-Star title
• Baldwin to debut Cup team at Daytona

Analysis:

• DW: Teams spend too much
• Owens: Where were the fireworks?
• DW: Petty cash, not enough
• McReynolds: It all starts here
• Mondaca: Nine stories for '09

Looking back at 2008:

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We ran for the championship from 1977 to 1992 and one of the things we did during our championship battles was prepare. It's one of the main things you have to focus on. You can't control circumstances and you can't control when the green flag drops, so you try to prepare and control what you can everything you can.

One of the things we always did week in and week out was replace everything on our racecar. Every hose, belt and everything in between was replaced. That racecar would go to the racetrack like a brand new car every week. Every piece would have been replaced every week. I don't care if it was broken or not, whether it had 500 miles on it or 50 miles on it — it didn't matter. When we were in there and fighting for a championship, everything got replaced, it's just something you have to do.

You simply can't take anything for granted. You can't assume anything. If you assume someone did their job, then you didn't do your job. The racecar is the one thing you can control. You basically have to sleep with it. So when something breaks on the racecar, you can't look to the manufacturer, you can't blame it on anything. You can only blame it on yourself.

I have seen what happened to Busch's car happen many, many times. The No. 18 team is saying it was the result of a broken heim joint, which connects the vehicle's left side sway bar to the lower control arm. There's a bolt that holds the heim joint to the sway bar arm, which came off. I have seen the nut left off that bolt many times. I am not saying that someone did that, but I have seen it happen.

Guess what though? You just can't let things like that happen.

Your driver can make mistakes. That's part of racing. You can have a problem in the pits. That's part of racing. You can get caught up in someone else's wreck. That's part of racing. But the one part of racing you can control is your own car and your own destiny.

I think Busch and his team let that one get away from them Sunday. Now, here is the good news for those guys. They had one to give. They had an 80-point advantage over just about everybody. So they had almost a built-in mulligan. He can have two bad races. So now he has one. Busch can overcome his deficit this weekend at Dover. He won there in June, so we know he runs well there.

The question now becomes can Busch and this team put last Sunday out of their mind. There are now nine races to go — that's plenty of time and he has some of his best racetracks ahead of him. Both the driver and crew have to put last Sunday behind them. They are going to have to man up and make up some of what they lost.

Charting the Chase

After one race, the Chase is still wide open. Greg Biffle proved that once you earn a spot in the top 12 for the final 10 races, then it is anybody's championship to win.

You still have to look at the numbers. Remember, this is a sport that is about the numbers. It's about who has a fast car and a fast pit crew. It's about who has wins, top five's and top 10's. That's how you judge performance and how you determine the favorite to win.

The favorite still has to be Busch. Next is Jimmie Johnson. After that comes Carl Edwards. Busch had a lousy day at Loudon, and now he has to try and catch back up to Edwards and Johnson at Dover if he can.

With Biffle winning at Loudon, I think it shows the strength of the Roush Fenway Racing cars. His teammate Edwards finished third, and both their cars were excellent all day. Biffle and his crew chief seem to be clicking. I see a lot of confidence out of the No. 16 team right now. I think him having his contract signed with Roush and getting that all behind him was the catalyst for when his performance started picking up. Biffle is a hard charger. He drives just like Busch does. He has that foot to the firewall all the time. We have always known that about Biffle. Now that can be good news and that can be bad news. You need to know how to temper that when you are trying to win a championship.

Johnson thought he had the car to beat, and you know what, I did too. I just think Biffle was saving a little something for the end and surprise Jimmie when he passed him and went on to win.

I was so impressed with what Carl and his crew chief Bob Osborne was able to do with that car because that car was junk. Edwards was only like 40th quick in practice. Because of the rainout and where they stood in the points, they got to start up front. They made the right changes on the car and stayed upfront. That's championship material right there. That's taking a bad situation and turning it into a great day. Just like Johnson and his crew chief Chad Knaus, Edwards and Osborne are known for being able to do that. The question now becomes whether Busch and Addington can do that.

Going into Dover this weekend, it is pretty wide open at the top. Probably the only guy in trouble of the Chase drivers is Matt Kenseth. It is going to be hard for them to overcome their 177-point deficit. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 50 points back as is Jeff Burton. Denny Hamlin is 72 points back, and Tony Stewart is 73 points back. Then you have Busch who is 74 points back. So roughly from about 10th on back it is going to be hard to overcome, but maybe they can do it. We'll see.

Oh, by the way

I thought Stewart and his team made a remarkable recovery from their problems at Richmond. They changed spotters, and it looked like that paid dividends. Stewart's attitude was 180 degrees from what it was a week ago. He worked hard for the team, and the team responded and worked hard for him. He had a great run considering he got a lap down and got behind. Coming home with a top 10 was a great recovery.

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Stewart runs good at Dover. I don't think you have heard the last of him either. Biffle's got a win and I know Stewart would love to get one. That leaves Stewart, Gordon, Kenseth and Kevin Harvick still winless for 2008.

Oh, by the way II

I am proud of Biffle. He is off to a great start. I don't want to call him a longshot, but it certainly did surprise me how well he ran and he did pull off the win. He could be one of those guys that could be a champion in all three of our series. He already has the Truck and Nationwide championships under his belt, and I have been waiting for him to add the Cup championship.

Oh, by the way III

Congratulations to Ron Hornaday Jr. for his truck win at Loudon on Saturday. I know Ron personally, and he is a standup guy. He's a hard worker who is a devoted husband, great dad and has a passion for racing. We all knew something was wrong with him a couple years ago when he started losing all that weight. I am glad that they finally found out what the problem was and he is being treated for it.

I think it also shows the dilemma that NASCAR is in with this drug testing policy. I am glad NASCAR had to listen to what Hornaday Jr. had to say. They heard his side of the story and looked at all the facts. I am glad they handled it the way they did. I think it was appropriate.

One final "Oh, by the way"

I really think Rick Hendrick did the right thing Sunday by getting on the radio with Dale Jr. and interjecting his thoughts. Dale Jr. has said he can get himself out there on that ledge sometimes, and it's hard to talk him off of it. I think Hendrick did a great job of getting Dale Jr.'s attention and getting him refocused on the things at hand. That voice of authority carries a lot power. It was the right thing to do because I think Dale Jr. needed that. I think Hendrick can play a vital role on that radio with Dale Jr. in these final nine races.

When I drove for Hendrick, he used to come there and talk to me, too. I know what he has done with his other drivers. Trust me, it's a different feeling when your car owner is talking to you than when it's your crew chief or a crew member. When that car owner speaks up, 99 times out of 100, you are probably going to listen and listen well.