Q: How do you look at Sunday’s race at Martinsville (Va. ) Speedway, a half-mile course where you’ve won seven times?
A: This is probably our best opportunity of the entire season to get that win. If we’re going to make that big move in the points, this is the weekend. This is a track where we’re very capable of running extremely well.
Q: Then you have Atlanta, a 1.5-mile oval where you have four victories.
A: Another great opportunity for us. Atlanta is a track that, to me, is one of the premier tracks on the circuit. It’s a big, fast track and the tire wear is pretty strong. The [tire] grip level goes away so quickly. You, as a driver, really have to search around that race track for the right groove.
Q: Handicap the other Chase leaders. You’re obviously rooting for your teammate Johnson, who leads Jeff Burton by 69 points, Greg Biffle by 86 and Carl Edwards by 168. But how do you see the Chase shaking out?
A: Jimmie and Chad [Knaus, his crew chief] are just so strong and you never can count them out. Those guys are going to be tough to beat. However, look at Burton [who won last week’s race at Charlotte]. He’s consistent, a veteran, and that team [Richard Childress Racing] is so strong. And now he’s got momentum in the middle of the Chase. And you can’t count out the Roush Fenway guys, Biffle and Edwards.
Q: Does it concern you that, after only four of the 10 Chase races, only four or five of the 12 Chase drivers realistically had a chance to win the championship?
A: Look at the alternative. If you went back to the old points system [prior to the Chase being implemented in 2004], you would have narrowed it down to fewer drivers and teams by this point, and the championship could have been decided before the end of the season. It’s very exciting and intense because, going into the Chase, you’ve got 12 guys who are all saying “I can win this thing. ” Prior to the Chase, you could have had maybe only four guys saying that. We’ve got five races left and we’ve narrowed it down to four guys, maybe even three, it’s true. But it’s still way more intense and exciting, both for a competitor and a fan, than before.
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