One race, probably just a fluke. Two races, things start getting worrisome. After three poor finishes, now its time for Kyle Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing team to hit the panic button.

Busch entered the Chase with eight wins on the season and momentum on his side - not to mention a nice lead on the other eleven drivers going for the championship. Untouchable during the first 26-race, the bottom has fallen out for the No. 18 team.

The troubles started at New Hampshire, when a broken bolt in the track bar assembly made driving the M&M's Toyota Camry near impossible. Busch spun around all on his own and was hit from behind by Jamie McMurray, making matters even worse. Not exactly the way the team planned on getting the Chase started, Busch finished 34th and dropped from first to eighth in the standings.

For race number two of the ten-week Chase, the series headed to Dover - where Busch scored a win earlier in the year. Looking to make up for the poor performance at New Hampshire, Busch started from the 11th-spot and was fast early in the going. That did not last long however, as Busch radioed crew chief Steve Addington, "It's blowing up."

With smoke billowing out of the tailpipes, Busch pulled the No. 18 behind the wall and recorded a 43rd-place finish. Busch fell to twelfth in the standings, 210 points out of the lead. "We're out of the title hunt," Busch said after the Dover race. "That's for sure. So we'll manage what we can."

Just trying to get a solid finish this weekend at Kansas, things continued to get worse for this team. This week, Busch was forced to deal with a fuel pick-up problem and a sputtering engine. Busch scored his best finish of the Chase - 28th - but was more than disappointed.

The team that most had already given the championship to at the start of the Chase will now be lucky if they can get a top-10 when the season ends in seven weeks. During the first twenty-six races of the season, Busch only had three finishes of 28th or worse, yet three races into the Chase, 28th is the best he has been able to manage.

With seven races left in the Chase, this team has a lot of work to do. Their issues seem to have rubbed off on the other two JGR teams. Leaving Kansas, the three Gibbs teams sit 10th, 11th and 12th in the standings.

One week was a fluke. Two weeks, time to look for answers. After three weeks of issues, now it is time to hit the panic button.