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NASCAR Chase quotes, Texas style
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Jimmie Johnson
As the season winds down drivers are not at a loss for words, but the meaning and the tone seems to change when only three races remain and one team, the No.48 with Jimmie Johnson, has a commanding lead.
Drivers are asked often why the No. 48 team has been so dominate for the past four seasons and as often as they try to describe why, an element of uncertainty remains. If anyone other than Johnson and the No. 48 team knew exactly why they are so consistent they might not be willing to share it. They would certainly want to duplicate it.
Perhaps some recent driver comments will put some shine on the light at the end of the tunnel that will illuminate the Sprint Cup after the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
1. Jimmie Johnson
“As soon as we get in the car, be focused on how the car is handling and adjustments that we need to make right on through the race,” Johnson said. “I'll just try to fall into all of that and just live and breathe the race car as much as possible so that my mind doesn't think about outside things.”
2. Mark Martin
“I am tired of the points, though, and I'm not just saying that because of being behind,” Martin said. “We were chasing points to get into the Chase, and now that we're here, that's all people are talking about. I'm just ready to have a fresh outlook and get back to it just being about the race itself. I'll be looking forward to Daytona (Fla.) and starting with a clean slate there."
3. Jeff Gordon
“But until we're mathematically not in this thing,” Gordon said. “Then we're still out there trying to beat those guys and the No. 5 (Mark Martin) and the No. 42 (Juan Pablo Montoya) and the No. 14 (Tony Stewart) -- We're treated the same way."
4. Tony Stewart
“We still have three races we can try to win here,” Stewart said. “That’s what I try to do every week is win, so that’s not going to change whether we have a reality of winning the championship or not. It’s still about going out and doing the best you can every race. All you can do is keep your fingers crossed that things go your way, and when the season is over, we’ll see where we’re at.”
5. Juan Montoya
“You can only do the best you can, we are doing the best we can every week. We just think about what we have got to do. Just put yourself in a good position and look after the car all day for the end of the race.”
6. Kurt Busch
“But the way I’ve always looked at it is what we do every race is certainly not for the weak at heart,” Busch said. “These races just always seem to bump it up a notch or two on the stress meter – for the drivers, team members and especially the fans."
7. Ryan Newman
“I was able to walk away from a bad crash just being sore, ”Newman said. “There are a lot of people I have to say thanks to for that. I want to thank ButlerBuilt (seats), Simpson Race Products and all the guys at the shop and Hendrick Chassis for what they do to make the cars safer. I obviously tested everything last week.
“I also want to thank all the NASCAR fans and the people who work in the sport for their outpouring of concern. I’ve gotten more calls, texts, emails and notes than I could have imagined. I know people have reached out to Krissie and people at Stewart-Haas Racing, and it has just really been amazing. So, I want to say thanks to everybody for that.”
8. Greg Biffle
"Winning at Texas is just like winning anywhere else,” Biffle said. “It takes luck, a good car, good pit stops and no mistakes behind the wheel."
9. Denny Hamlin
Obviously when you put yourself in position like we have over the last few weeks,” Hamlin said. “You're going to win races. It's just great to have that feeling, able to go to a racetrack and know that you can win no matter what type of racetrack that you're on.”
10. Carl Edwards
“It takes a really, really good racecar to win at Texas,” Edwards said. “That’s the bottom-line. You have to have a very powerful engine and you’ve got to have a great aerodynamics package. Your crew chief and engineer have to have the car put together really well and sometimes you need great fuel mileage on top of that. It takes a lot to win in Texas.”
11. Kasey Kahne
“The biggest thing (about a good car at Texas) is the front end,” Kahne said. “You have to get the left front working. You have to make sure that your front two tires are cutting real well. You need your back (of the car) to be in the track real well. The biggest thing for me is the front tires. That’s usually what we struggle with here; the front tires aren’t working as good as they need to work. The couple times that they have worked really well, we’ve either been first of second.”
12. Brian Vickers
Six years after Brian Vickers had a win taken away at Texas Motor Speedway his quote still has grit: “We had the race won today, and it got taken away from us,” Vickers said. “The fire inside of me to win a NASCAR race is just that much stronger.”
Quotes from two more notable drivers:
Brad Keselowski:
“I think the biggest hurdle for me is to look around and see how everything works on the No. 12 Penske Dodge team,” Keselowski said. “I need to be very observant and try to understand how we do things. There are a million little things that are going to be different. The most challenging part will be adjusting to how things are done, but I feel we are all up to the task.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
About Texas: “I just like the enthusiasm that the crowd has and the people that are from in and around that area have for racing,” Earnhardt said. “So it gets me excited."
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