DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FEDEX EXPRESS CHEVROLET: AT WHAT POINT THIS SEASON DID YOU REALIZE THAT THINGS WERE COMING TOGETHER? “It was probably right around Richmond where we really hit our stride and we started knocking out top-10, top-15 finishes. Ever since then our team has just really been communicating well. The biggest thing is we’re getting down our communication between me and Tony and J.J. The three teams are working closer than they ever have.”

WAS IT HARD TO KEEP YOUR HEAD ON STRAIGHT GIVEN THAT THIS HAPPENED SO FAST? “It’s really an honor to be racing with the guys for points that I’m racing with. I never would have dreamed that I would be included in that group of the guys that were racing for that top-10, top-11 spots. Whether we’re in or out, two races down the road, it’s still been a great ride. I’ve enjoyed it and it’s still been great for us. You’ve got to use your own instincts sometimes and know what’s the right thing to do, what’s the wrong thing. But I’ve been racing around the guys that I’ve been racing for points so much that I realize I’ve still got a lot to learn. They do things a little bit different than I do and more likely their way is the right way. I’m just dumb rookie who doesn’t know what he’s doing. It’s hard to tell what the future is, as far as where we’re going to be in the Chase or out of the Chase. Regardless, I feel like I’ve learned a lot this year and I feel like my learning curve is really cut down racing with the veterans that I have this year.”

YOU SEEM MORE RELAXED NOW. WHY IS THAT? “Because we’re already exceeding expectations. Anything that happens from here on out is icing on the cake. I feel like even if we just fall completely on our faces from here on out we still had a great season. Things went really well for us and we were in the Chase battle and that’s all I could hope for at the beginning of the season is at this point of the season I have a chance to get in the Chase. I figured I’d probably be 13th, 14th with a far outside chance looking in. To be in the position I’m at, anything that happens from here on out is a bonus.”

AS A RAYBESTOS ROOKIE, WHAT IS IT LIKE TO GO HOME TO RICHMOND TO MAKE YOUR FIRST CHASE FOR THE NEXTEL CUP? “You’d probably see a real big deal. Going back to Richmond, especially a place we’ve run really well in the spring, and we’ve run really well on the flat tracks overall this year. I’m very confident that if we can get away this week with maybe giving up a limited amount of points that we can race our way in at Richmond. I feel like we’re a good enough team that we can do that. If we top-10 it like we have these last six weeks we give them no choice but to let us have it.”

DO YOU KEEP TRACK OF THE OTHER CHASE DRIVERS DURING A RACE? “For me, it started five weeks ago. For my crew it really started a couple weeks ago at Watkins Glen where we noticed guys we were racing for the Chase had fallen out of the race. To me, the pressure is always on. Every caution I’d look around to see where guys were at around me in points. I probably let it get to me more than it should but it’s the smart thing to do. When a guy behind you is having trouble, you don’t need to go for that position in front of you and risk your race car. Instead, finish where you’re going to end up and take the conservative approach.”

HAS THERE BEEN A RACE WHERE THIS CHASE HAS BEEN WON OR LOST FOR YOU? “Definitely one I feel like we missed out on a lot of points was obviously Loudon where we ran out of gas. But we still finished sixth, which was good, and Indy where we were very strong, running third with 10, 15 to go and ended up having motor problems. We definitely feel like we’ve given up a lot of points throughout the year but a lot of guys have. Everyone’s got the same story of we would have finished here but something happened. I feel like we’ve had a very solid year. If we just keep doing the things that we have been then with no problems we should be able to make it.”

IS THERE MORE PRESSURE ON YOU GOING TO YOUR HOMETOWN TRACK WITH EVERYTHING ON THE LINE? “It definitely feels like there is more pressure, there always is when I go to Richmond, regardless of whether I’m in a championship battle or not. I definitely get really stressed out and it seems like I have a lot of appearances and stuff the week leading up to Richmond and now it just makes it double the worse now that I’ve got all this going on. This is what I signed up for, this is what I wanted to happen so I definitely wouldn’t trade my position for anybody’s, except for maybe Jimmie Johnson or Matt Kenseth [laughter].”

SHOULD THE TRACK HERE BE CHANGED? “This is a great racetrack. It seems like over the years the groove has moved around a lot. This used to be strictly a one-groove racetrack. Guys maybe moved up a lane or so but in the spring, guys were running right up against the wall. I think you’re going to see a lot of tendencies out of this racetrack a lot like Michigan where the groove is really from top to bottom. And I think you’ll see a lot of that especially this weekend. I don’t think there is any reason to change it. It’s good the way it is. A two-mile track is a two-mile track. No matter how you change it it’s going to be similar to somewhere else. I think the only unique big track we have is Pocono.”

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST THING THAT YOU’VE LEARNED TO HELP YOU WIN RACES THIS YEAR? “Patience. I’ve said it a million times that I feel like I’ve learned a lot of patience over these last 20 races or so. I feel like at the beginning of the year I was really looking to get every spot I could just as soon as I could. Now, things are a lot more relaxed and I feel like that’s a lot of the reason why the racing was what it was at Bristol. Guys were taking it easy and we’re in such a tight points battle we can’t afford to have trouble because everyone who is in the top-10 in points runs in the top-10 it seems like every single race. It’s taken more to make this Chase this year than it has in any other Chase scenario in the past. It’s just a testament to how strong these 10, 15 teams are.”

YOU SOUND LIKE YOU DON’T WANT TO JINX YOURSELF. “Anything can happen. I’ve seen it happen with Jeff Burton just a couple of weeks ago where it’s like ‘He’s sure to be in it ‘ and the next thing you know he’s got a blown motor and he finishes dead last. It can happen and until we’ve got a decent enough cushion where there’s enough cars out of the race at Richmond to where we’re locked in, I don’t feel security at all. Anything can happen.”

COMMENT ON THE CHASE STARTING AT NEW HAMPSHIRE INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY. WOULD YOU CHANGE THAT? “I don’t think so. I think it’s a great racetrack to start off the Chase. The Chase format kind of has a imbalance of racetracks as far as you’ve got a lot of mile-and-halfs in that last 10 races but there’s really not a lot of mile-and-a-halfs that lead up to the Chase. Maybe move those around but I know there’s to it than that. There’s a lot of things that go into that. I feel like it does have the balance with Martinsville, Homestead, Talladega. It does have a balance of the big tracks, small tracks. The only thing it doesn’t have is a road course but we only run two times a year. It’s not necessary. I think there’s a pretty good balance right now.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON AND MATT KENSETH HAVE BEEN IN THE CHASE FOR THREE YEARS. THIS WILL BE YOUR FIRST ONE, IF YOU MAKE IT. HOW DO YOU MAKE UP FOR THAT EXPERIENCE EDGE THAT THEY HAVE? “I feel like if we do make it, running those last seven races [last season] is going to be very pivotal for us because all those races were in the Chase and it’s somewhere we’re going to be going back to and have notes. Given that I’ve learned a lot since then, but we do have a starting point. I’ve been around those racetracks in a Cup car before where even a lot of these racetracks that we’re at now I haven’t been into in a Cup car. But I think it’s going to be a big benefit if we do make it that we chose to run those last seven in a row.”

HAVE YOU PICKED TONY’S BRAIN AT ALL ABOUT WHAT THE ATTENTION IS LIKE IN THE LAST 10 RACES? “I’ve just heard through the grapevine and other drivers and everything that I don’t even know what’s coming. I’d rather have all the attention than none at all.”

IF YOU MAKE THE CHASE, CAN YOU JUST RELAX AND HAVE FUN? “That was the approach that I thought I was going to take, but then again, you think about it and Mike’s like ‘We’re not racing for 10th. We’re going to go out there and race for the championship, just like the rest of these guys. We’ve proven over these last six weeks that if we do those things, we’ve got as good a shot as anybody. You never know what can happen. I think in the past it seems like one team, you can have one bad race, but if you eliminate that bad race maybe you can give up running top-five, top-three every single week. And we’re going to take the approach of going out there and going for the championship, just like anybody else, regardless of the experience level. I feel like the race car doesn’t know how much experience I have behind the wheel and obviously inside that race car I feel very comfortable.”

HOW DID YOU AND CREW CHIEF MIKE FORD GEL SO QUICKLY? “You know, I’m not sure how it worked out as well as it did, but me and Mike have got great communication. I think we gained a lot of trust in each other at Phoenix last year when we unloaded absolutely dismal and ended up getting the pole all in the same day. It showed that he had confidence in me as a driver and I was just at a point where I said ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with the car. It’s just terrible. I don’t know what to do.’ And he just fixed it and made it better. It showed right there that he’s got the skill and experience to make it happen. I’ve just got to do the right things behind the wheel.”

AS A RAYBESTOS ROOKIE, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO GAIN THE RESPECT OF YOUR PEERS? IT TAKES MOST ROOKIES YEARS TO GAIN THAT RESPECT BUT YOU’VE GOT IT. “It really does, but I think a lot of it comes from racing the guys week in and week out. I think it makes it a lot tougher on Raybestos Rookies when sometimes you run good, sometimes you run bad because you don’t get to race around the veterans that much. We’ve been solid, I feel like, that we’ve run in the top-10 enough, that we’ve run against Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin on a weekly basis so they feel comfortable around me and it makes it a lot easier on them and me.”

HOW DO YOU IMPROVE FOR NEXT YEAR? “It’s hard to say [smiles]. I don’t know how you get better, really. Of course, you become more competitive and go for more wins. You become a race-winning car instead of a top-five, top-10 car every week. You’ve got a car that can compete for a win. Now, that feel will come in time, I’m sure. We’ve just got to be patient and next year is definitely going to be a great year for us, I feel like. I feel like there is a few things that I would have done different through out this year that would have really helped my position where I’m at right now. If I can take all that information and store it away we should have a great year next year.”

YOU ARE A NEXTEL CUP SERIES DRIVER FOR THE FORSEEABLE FUTURE. “A lot of people say that, but I never do feel that security of ‘You know, I’ll be here just as long as I want.’ I know that’s what a lot of the outside world thinks but I feel like there is so much up and coming talent that’s right behind me, your job is never secure. Until your performance really falls, then yeah, I feel like I’ve got a really secure spot in this sport. But I feel like I’m with a great enough organization that they were set out to go through the bad times as well as the good times with me. We really haven’t had those tough trials and tribulations that we thought we were going to have so we’re living off the good times while we can. But when they do come down the road that Gibbs is going to be understanding. Of course, this is a family organization and I feel like family when I’m with them.”

THE LAST TIME AT RICHMOND YOU FINISHED SECOND TO DALE JR. YOU ADMITTED THAT YOU WEREN’T SUPER-AGGRESSIVE DOWN THE STRETCH. NOW THAT YOU HAVE MORE EXPERIENCE, WILL YOU RACE A LITTLE HARDER? “I did everything I could to win that race cleanly. But you never know in a situation where if that were to happen again and I had to get it to get in the Chase, then things probably would have been different. I felt like that goes back to earning the respect of the veterans. I was not going to get any more friends in the garage by going out there and knocking him out of the way, nor in the stands. People will think about that and I’m sure if I’m going to be in the sport for years to come the same situation will come up and he’ll think about that.”