The Final Countdown: Three Races to Go
To say that the pressure notches up in November like that of a Kobalt ratcheting wrench is an understatement. The stakes get higher each week, and the competition gets more intense. You never get comfortable no matter where you are in the points.
Our performance in the Chase for the Championship is going according to the plan we set back in September: win races where we can, finish in the top 10 when we can’t, and protect ourselves from danger at every turn.
But our focus isn’t letting up. After a near perfect weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway where we earned the pole, had the fastest laps in practice and won the race, we had to get through Martinsville and Talladega. That was truly a team effort to come home second at Martinsville and sixth at Talladega. With those two tough tracks behind us, we can turn our sights to the last three races.
Texas, Phoenix and Homestead-Miami are all going to be challenging races for us. We’ve been fortunate over the course of the last couple years that we haven't had a significant failure in the Chase, but it is very, very possible, and the potential is there every time you go on the racetrack. If we even let up a little bit, there are several other teams just waiting to take advantage.
Our No. 48 Lowe’s crew has done a great job through the Chase. We made a change because one of the guys had an injury. You can’t plan for that in the Chase. We had to work through it in real time, but I think those guys are really gelling, and I couldn't be prouder of them.
We’ve got our cars prepared for the tracks coming up, and we’re working on our race strategy for each event. There are a lot of variables we have to consider – like weather, tires, even last-minute rules changes – that impact how we set up and race the car. We look at every possible scenario to make sure we have a plan if it occurs.
What we aren’t doing is relaxing or taking it easy. We want to go out there and win the last three races of the year. The weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway was near-perfect, but if we could take that a step further at Texas or Phoenix, that would be great.
As for relaxing, that probably won’t be until lap 287 at Homestead.