“The way I see it, these three next to me are supposed to win the championship and I’m probably not”, Truex said.
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Harvick has tried to diffuse talk that he’s the heavy favorite Sunday to hold off Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch at the same track where he clinched his 2014 crown. “Everybody’s going to remember this race no matter who is champion because he was in it”.
“So to be part of that race is pretty cool”.
“I need three clutch laps like that to close the race out on Sunday”, Gordon chuckled.
“All four drivers are capable of winning this, but having a driver that’s been through it the previous year and knows how to handle it and knows what to expect, I mean, that’s a big advantage going into a week like this”, he said. “I haven’t raced anybody different, and I think it’s just another race as far as that stuff goes”. “You don’t want to be the guy that gets in the middle of that, but we want to also win the race”.
Gordon’s crew chief, Alan Gustafson, isn’t anxious his driver will be overwhelmed by the moment. I felt really good about it, ” said Gordon, who will try Sunday to win his fifth championship in the final race of his career. “I was looking at everything and trying to figure out where I lost time”.
Gordon said he also is being careful not to let the chaos drown the fact that he is here to win a fifth championship. “He’s obviously one of the best here and I’ve leaned on him a lot this week and we’ll continue to do so here through practice”. “When it goes the way it went in qualifying…man that’s fun”. “I didn’t realize how much more grip was going to be out there compared to practice, and I just wasn’t aggressive enough”. All in all, I just think our balance was too tight.
“I guess that’s definitely out of the window now”, he said.
There were times this season, however, when things were not so great.
“That was big because of the wins, and how we dominated that season”, Gordon recalled Thursday, reflecting on his glorious career. The driver with the highest finish among the final four will be declared the victor of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. All eyes will be on the No. 24 auto. “But it’s something you don’t really want to have to go through, that’s for sure”. He has a lovely family, a reputation as one of the good guys and a popularity that transcends NASCAR. We know we have to win that thing.
Full NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying times from Homestead-Miami Speedway. Brad Keselowski (176.091 mph), Denny Hamlin (175.959 mph), Jimmie Johnson (175.879 mph) and Jeff Gordon (175.867 mph)were among the top-six to transfer to the final round. “I love him like he was my brother or my son”, Hendrick said Thursday.
Any one of those story lines would resonate with the NASCAR fan base, but Truex and his team have happily embraced the underdog role. I wanted to be here for his last race.
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The teenager unseated two-time defending champion Matt Crafton, who gained a few consolation by winning his sixth race of the season but ended up third in the standings. He noted that exactly eight months ago Saturday he was undergoing surgery, and said the pressure of racing for the title is nothing compared to the rehabilitation he did to get back in the auto.
