Q. How does the pressure of a team being in the Chase affect both your racing as far as preparation going into the event and what transpires on the track. What does the pressure of the Chase do?
KASEY KAHNE: The two months leading into the Chase, the pressure, the points are so close from fifth to 15th this year, that pressure was intense and that’s where the team was bringing great race cars. I couldn’t make any mistakes and we had to be really on top of our game to make the Chase and we did that and now being in the Chase it’s the same thing. So really we have been doing that for a while now, and you know, just trying to get every point we can, the best finish as possible, and I think the final practice leading into each race is really critical for the following day.
Q. Wondering if you think maybe NASCAR should maybe mix up the schedule of the Chase itself, it’s kind of like the equivalent of maybe having the Super Bowl in the same city every single year. What are your thoughts on that?
KASEY KAHNE: I think some of the tracks we go to right now are really good for myself and our whole Budweiser team. They are also good for Jimmie Johnson and good for a lot of drivers. I had no problems with the way it is now, but to switch it up and things, I don’t know how that would work out. I think the way it is now, it’s pretty good, and you could switch it up but that would change so many races throughout the rest of the season, too, to get the scheduling right. I think it would be kind of a tough deal.
Q. Seeing things this week on television, a lot of people kind of already conceded this whole thing to Jimmie Johnson. I’m just curious, from your perspective I can think of at least two tracks that would seem like huge wildcards, Talladega and Martinsville, things like that. How do you handle that? How do you reconcile all this? What do you see shaking out, or is a little early to give anything away yet?
KASEY KAHNE: I’d say it’s definitely too early because the points are still too close. I mean, Jimmie is doing the same things he does every year, and that’s really dominate the Chase. He’s right there. He’s in a great position. Mark Martin has done an awesome job, Juan Pablo has done a great job, and I would say Jeff Gordon has been really quick, too. Those between four, to me they have been the best four, and everybody after that has kind of had luck if they are close or bad luck or whatever it may be. But those top four are still close and anything can happen. Especially if something happens to Jimmie, it will be tough for him to catch backup because of how strong Mark and Montoya and them guys are.
Q. Sometimes in the heat of the moment, we all say things that we shouldn’t say. Do you still stand by your statement that NASCAR threw a phantom caution to make the race more entertaining?
KASEY KAHNE: I never said phantom. I think other people may have said that. But I was frustrated. We had a Budweiser Dodge. We made adjustments to get it to where it was. We were a 25th place car at the start of the race and we figured out how to get in the top six, top five. Kurt Busch made a mistake and got me in Biffle, and then I was in another wreck right after that.
So I was frustrated. I was disappointed and kind of what had happened to us in the Chase, we have had top ten cars in each race and had a few different problems now that we couldn’t do anything about. I said that, and yeah, I didn’t see anything on the track. My eyes are wide open, so at the time I was definitely frustrated. But we also need exciting races and we need exciting finishes, and a track like that, the tire we are racing on there, there’s things that make that race, to me, pretty boring, and we needed a caution there at the end to make it exciting and I guess that’s what the fans got.
Q. Would you ever consider going and racing the Indy 500 if the circumstances were right?
KASEY KAHNE: I think I definitely would. You know, in the past, growing up, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I wanted to race cars and when I kind of was winning in the USAC and Sprint car levels, I had somewhat of an opportunity to go IndyCar or NASCAR, and NASCAR’s what worked out and it’s been an awesome, great time for me.
But if there were ever an opportunity with a good team that I could do the right amount of testing and be able to make that race and the Coca‑Cola 600, I don’t know why I wouldn’t. I think it would be a huge, it’s a really difficult race to be a part of and to try to do that whole month of May with the NASCAR schedule, I think that would be a huge challenge and I would love to be part of it if it ever could work.
Q. Just wanted to get your thoughts on the news that NASCAR came out with last week about more consistent times, how do you feel about that?
KASEY KAHNE: Well, the only thing I see there, in the past I’ve always kind of wondered what time we were starting and you never really know because it changes so much. So as a driver, I’ve always wondered. But really as a driver, it doesn’t matter, you know, what time it starts.
To me it’s whatever makes the most sense for NASCAR, for Sprint, for the show, and when it’s the best time for the fans. I think having the designated time, the majority really helps out because you know what time the race is starting. Easier to maybe plan your schedule for that day or if you want to watch half the race or the whole race, it’s easier on you. So I really think they did a good job by doing that one o’clock start.
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