Kyle Busch's victory at Watkins Glen could make it more difficult for anyone to catch him during the Chase. Four races remain until the Chase, so there's 40 bonus points left for drivers to grab, but Busch's win Sunday was his eighth, giving him 80 bonus points.

"Having this much room just allows you to kind of buffer through the Chase a little bit more,'' Busch said after the win. "Before, maybe to win the championship, you'd have to finish fourth every week and now you can probably -- for us we can probably finish eighth every week and give up a couple (of positions). We don't wnat to do that but the room is there to kind of give and take a little bit and race a little bit more when we need to.''

Remember that after the Richmond race next month, the points for the top 12 drivers are re-set to 5,000 and then bonus points are added. With four races left, Busch is building quite a lead on some of his title contenders (note: the most a driver can make up on another driver in a race is 161 points). Eight of the top 13 in points have one or no victories this season, meaning some top-name drivers are at least 70 points behind Busch in bonus points:

Jeff Gordon is 80 points beind Busch

Tony Stewart is 80 points behind Busch

Greg Biffle is 80 points behind Busch

Kevin Harvick is 80 points behind Busch

Matt Kenseth is 80 points behind Busch

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 70 points behind Busch

Jeff Burton is 70 points behind Busch

Denny Hamlin is 70 points behind Busch

Clint Bowyer is 70 points behind Busch

That's just staggering. Yes, anything can happen during the Chase, but falling behind Busch by so many bonus points could end title runs before they nearly start.

Consider this: The series has raced at eight of the 10 tracks that will host a Chase race (NASCAR doesn't race at Kansas and Homestead until the Chase). Busch has outscored every driver in those eight races combined. Add in those bonus points and he would look to have a sizable cushion _ although, again, just because teams finished one way earlier this year doens't mean they'll do the same in the Chase.

Just look at the numbers and you can see how valuable the bonus points could be for Busch:

Here's the points scored by drivers at the 8 tracks that will host a Chase race this season, how far behind Busch they are for those races only and how many bonus points each driver has so far.

1. Kyle Busch ... 1,186 points ... 80 bonus points.

2. Jeff Burton ... 1,160 points (26 behind Busch) ... 10 bonus points

3. Jimmie Johnson ... 1,128 points (58 points behind Busch) ... 20 bonus points

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ... 1,071 points (115 points behind Busch) ... 10 bonus points

5. Denny Hamlin ... 1,070 points (116 points behind Busch) ... 10 bonus points

6. Jeff Gordon ... 1,054 points (132 points behind Busch) ... 0 bonus points

7. Greg Biffle ... 1,011 points (175 points behind Busch) ... 0 bonus points

8. Carl Edwards ... 1,003 points (183 points behind Busch) ... 30 bonus points

9. Tony Stewart ... 939 points (247 points behind Busch) ... 0 bonus points

10. Kevin Harvick ... 901 points (285 points behind Busch) ... 0 bonus points

11. Matt Kenseth ... 872 points (314 points behind Busch) ... 0 bonus points

12. Kasey Kahne ... 771 points (415 points behind Busch) ... 20 bonus points

You can see how bonus points could make a difference. Jeff Burton has shown the best ability to match Busch's point totals for those eight races but he can't match Busch's wins and bonus points. What should be really scary for those trying to challenge Busch is that his eight-race point total above includes a 38th at Martinsville and a 25th at New Hampshire earlier this year. The rest of the six races are top-10s with three wins (Dover, Talladega and Atlanta). So, Busch has shown he can have problems and still run away from most of the other best teams in the series.

Fact is, it's hard to tell who could win this thing. But Busch's winning makes it harder for those without wins because they can't afford to have bad races or they'll likley fall further behind.

For anti-Busch fans there is hope. Jimmie Johnson was 165 points out of the lead during the Chase in 2006 and was in the lead five races later on the way to winning his first title. But that was a year where everyone had problems, allowing Johnson to charge to the front (along with finishing in the top 2 five consecutive races).

If you think pressure will get to Busch during the Chase, teammate Tony Stewart says you could be wrong.

"I don't think that bothers him,'' Stewart said. "I honestly think he thrives on it. I think he's a young guy, and he's so motivated to win that I don't even know if he even feels pressure. He's just riding a huge momentum wave right now, and it's hard for anything to affect you when you're having a season like this.''

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