That's exactly what we're hoping for this time around - another great day and a super team effort. We definitely plan on starting up closer to the front than we did there that day. |
That's something I tried to do last year and again modeled that pattern this year -- just to run each of the regular-season races as if they were important, and they are definitely. But the final 10 and the intensity and pressure and anxiety to get to the racetrack and to have a solid finish . . . the final 10 is definitely so intense that you can wear yourself out before you even get there. |
That's the decision they made and I will live with it. |
That's what I live for, is the challenge and the competition on the track. You're going to have your good days and have your bad days, but it's easier to be comfortable because I know in the long run everything's going to be all right. |
That's what makes our sport so unique. You can sit there and watch it on TV, and you get more of the perspective of the pit strategy and the way the guys are passing each other out on the track. Then when you come to the race, you lose a little bit of that, but you can still see live what's going on, and you can get a scanner and hear the teams and what transmissions go back and forth. And you have the smell, you've got the sight, the feel. When cars come by at 200 miles an hour, it blows you away. |
That's why we're here testing at Richmond. That's the cutoff for the Chase. They want to make it an equal opportunity for everybody when it comes down to the wire whether you're in or out. There are no excuses. |
The coolest thing is when you come to a race ... when you come and see it live and you're there and you get the sound and you get the feel and then the smell, |
The crew gave me great equipment to drive. I'm real proud of this effort. It's a race leading up to the Chase. We have to go and we need consistent finishes, so I'm happy. |
The race is definitely a high-intensity race. You have to stay patient. I've got one win there, but many tough finishes. I hope we're able to stay out of trouble in the pits and put together a good finish. |
The way that Roger runs his organization, it's a 'flat' organization. What I mean by that is that you can just walk into anybody's office and ask them a question on how we can get things done a little bit better or easier and nobody has a chip on their shoulder on how the totem pole is supposed to work. Everything is run flat across the board. Everybody is smiling and having a good time. |
There wouldn't be any way I could have jumped into Cup with the success I had without the truck series. I wish I had more time to spend there. There are so many things the truck teaches you about aerodynamics, the professional ranks of racing, and working with a professional team. |
There's a 26-race regular season where you can bring the intensity of the final 10 into every week, and that will burn you out pretty quick, |
There's no more important test than Vegas. We've got quite a bit of guessing to get through the next part of the season, and that's why this test is very important. |
This is something we've been looking forward to for many races -- Richmond. We wanted to get a good finish because it has bit us so many times. |
This was a great momentum-builder, ... Look out, Kurt Busch is running again. This just propels you right into the Chase. |