DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FEDEX GROUND CHEVROLET: DO YOU HAVE TO WIN HERE ON SUNDAY TO HAVE A CHANCE AT THE CHAMPIONSHIP? “I don’t think we have to win the race. We just have to capitalize if one of the two guys in front of us have a mediocre day. They really don’t have to have a bad day for us to make up points. If we finish in the top-five and they end up 15th or so, I mean, we’re right back within 10 or 20 points. We’re still in contention. We can’t think about what points we lost through the season because everyone is in the same boat. For us, it’s just going out there and doing the best we can.” HOW DID YOU BEAT KYLE BUSCH IN THE GO-KART RACE YESTERDAY AT THE BOB BONDURANT SCHOOL OF HIGH PERFORMANCE DRIVING? “They were all making fun of me because I was going to have a weight disadvantage earlier and they were wondering how I beat ‘em afterwards so that shows you right there. Those things were a lot of fun. That was the most fun I think I’ve had in a long time getting to ride you guys [media] around in the cars and going out in the go-kart track and racing Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer. We all have a relationship, anyway, off the racetrack. It just kind of keeps us together.” AND YOU WON, SO YOU MUST HAVE BEEN DOING SOMETHING IN THE CORNERS. “I was just better [smiles]. We’re competitive about everything. Kyle is actually one of the most competitive people I’ve ever met when it comes to racing outside of the Cup series. We went to Maine for an Oxford race and he shows up two weeks early to test and it’s just for fun. That’s the way Kyle is.” COMMENT ON THE IMPORTANCE OF QUALIYFING WELL. “I think qualifying is very important here. I think it two races we’ve been no worse than sixth so we’ve got to continue that and qualify well. I feel like we had a very strong car here in the spring. We just had engine problems on the pace lap. We didn’t really get to show our full potential there but I think we should have a good car.” WHAT IS KEY FOR THE NEXT TWO RACES? “I think it’s going to have to be top-five finishes from here on out for us. I think the 8 car is capable of doing that and we’re basically tied in points with him. If we do capitalize, he’s going to capitalize as well and I think he’s going to probably top-five it from here on out and I think we need to do the exact same, maybe even a little better. Either way, I’m still happy to be a part of the hunt come this part of the season.” THERE ARE THREE VETERAN DRIVERS IN FRONT OF YOU IN THE CHASE. DOES BEING A RAYBESTOS ROOKIE PUT YOU AT A DISADVANTAGE? “I think it’s more of an advantage than a disadvantage to be a Raybestos Rookie because our expectations are low from the start from a lot of people. We don’t have the pressure of ‘Is this going to be the year?’ Everyone is wondering if this is going to be the year you’re going to finish top-20 in points. So everything we do from here on out is going to be great for us. We just don’t want to fall on our faces. We want to end the year on a strong note no matter where we end up in points.” JIMMIE JOHNSON SAID HE WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU BECAUSE YOU RUN SO WELL HERE AND AT HOMESTEAD. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT? “I think we can get back in it fairly easy here. Like I say, these guys are going to have to have a mediocre day to a bad day for us to be ahead of ‘em come Homestead. And to me, for a chance to win the championship, I’m going to need to be ahead going into Homestead. I feel like you can’t count on bad luck here and bad luck there. I don’t know how we’re going to run at Homestead so I’d feel much more comfortable leading the standings going in than having to chase and make up points. For me this is a racetrack that, and all the guys in points probably know, that I run really well here and I have in the past. They know that they need to run well to not lose any ground.” ARE YOU GUYS MORE AGGRESSIVE NOW THAN YOU HAVE BEEN IN THE PAST? “We’re as aggressive as we can without messing up our strategy. We have a strategy and we try to stick to it. But you know I was at a point last week at Texas that I told the crew chief ‘Look, we’re not going to win the championship this way. Let’s do something, anything. Let’s do something to try to get back track position.’ Luckily it worked out at the end.” YOU SEEM TO BE HAVING FUN. “That’s what it’s all about. We’re all here to have fun. Everyone of these drivers are at this top level of the profession that they dreamed about so why are you not going to have fun? There’s no sense in getting to your goal and then not enjoying it. You’ve got to enjoy it while you are here because you never know how long it’s going to last. You really have to put things into perspective and realize that you are at the top level of racing in America so have fun with it.” HAVE YOU MADE AN EFFORT TO DO THAT OR DOES IT COME NATURAL? “From all the struggles and everything that we’ve had, you learn to appreciate it a lot more. For me, it’s a situation where I knew all the struggles. I knew what it took to get here, how hard it was, the sleepless nights, the empty bank account and now that I’m here, it’s time to have fun.” YOU HAVE TO RACE HARD TO GET THE MOST POINTS BUT YOU ALSO HAVE TO RACE SMART. “I think if your car is good enough you can do both. If your car is not good enough, you’re going to be on the edge of smart and being aggressive. You’re going to have to have a balance there. For us, I got to short tracks assuming that we can go there and win the race. On the bigger tracks, until I get more comfortable, I going there hoping I can run top-five. So for me, this is a racetrack that I’ve called my favorite racetrack all year long. We’ll see what happens from here on out [smiles].” HOW SPECIAL IS THIS TRACK TO YOU? “It’s good. We got the pole last year in this race and that was pretty much the turning point my career or life or whatever you may want to say that I felt like ‘Man, I really succeeded. This race is special to me. We’ve just got to make sure that we’re doing the things that we’ve been doing all year and have fun with it.” YOU SAID AFTER THE BUD SHOOTOUT THAT YOU WENT INTO IT JUST TRYING TO MAKE FRIENDS. HAS YOUR ENTIRE RAYBESTOS ROOKIE SEASON BEEN SPENT TRYING TO BUILD UP RELATIONSHIPS? “That’s what it’s all about. I don’t think there is any guy in the garage that has a grudge against me or anything like that. And that’s what I want is at the end of the season not be afraid to shake every guy’s hand in the garage or look any of them in the eye and think that I’ve done anything wrong to ‘em. I think I’ve accomplished that this year. If there is, then so be it [laughs]. You’re not going to make everyone happy but in the same sense you want respect from everyone.” CAN YOU COMPARE YOUR RAYBESTOS ROOKIE SEASON TO THOSE OF JIMMIE JOHNSON AND TONY STEWART? WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU FIT IN? “It’s hard to really compare because things have changed so much. And I think that anybody would argue that this series is twice as competitive as it was last year and tenfold over 10 years ago. It’s gotten so much more competitive. That’s why I’m happy with the accomplishments that we have. Not to take away anything from any of the other guys because they were awesome at their time and still are. For me, I’m really happy because I did it in the time there is 15-20 excellent race teams that can win on any weekend. That means a lot.” HAS IT HIT YOU THAT YOU ARE STANDING HERE TALKING ABOUT WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP? “My ultimate goal when we started the Chase was just have a mathematical chance going into Homestead. If I have a mathematical chance then that means that I was going to be somewhere in the top-five or six in points. To be less than 100 still with two races to go is pretty good for us.” HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR YOU TO HAVE SOMEONE LIKE TONY STEWART AT JOE GIBBS RACING? “He’s helped out quite a bit. There’s no secret that he’s looked me and J.J. the entire year and especially with the way that he’s been running lately, he’s good for some good notes. We’re trying to do everything we can to try to get what that team has under him and the feel. I just don’t have the feel that he has right now in the race car and hopefully that will come with time.” WHAT WAS THE TURNING POINT FOR YOU IN THE CHASE? “I’d definitely have to say for us it was Martinsville when we finished second there to Jimmie. That was the point where we gained momentum and we’ve been on a couple top-10s since then. Unfortunately, and you hate to say it, but top-10s are just not good enough in the Chase, not to win it anyway. You could finish second, third, fourth and fifth in points running top-10 but you’re not going to win the championship. You’re going to do what Jimmie’s doing out there: top-five every single week. We’re just not at that level yet. I’m not saying that our team doesn’t have the potential to be at that level, I think they’re being held back by their driver right now.” WHAT WAS YOUR BEST RACE IN THE CHASE? “By far it Martinsville was probably the best weekend for us. Everywhere else we seem like we have struggled at the beginning of the races then just battled back all day to get our top-10 finish at the end. This is another race here that I feel like we should be able to run top-five, top-10 all day and not worry about what we’re going to do to make up track position.” WAS THERE A MOMENT THAT YOU REGRET DURING THE CHASE? “It’s bad to say [smiles] but I kind of let my crew chief talk me into a different style of qualifying for Charlotte and it ended up getting us back in the pack and that’s when we get in the first-lap incident. I knew back in my mind that I just needed to do whatever I needed to do, what I’ve done all year long. He just put something in my head that I kept thinking over and over and it ended up costing us a little bit of time. That’s the only regret that I have. Other than that, I wouldn’t have done anything different. It’s just bad luck.” COMMENT ON HOMESTEAD. “At that track, I’ve always seemed to make my car work the best on the bottom. A lot of guys run up top so it make for easier passing than you would have at a normal racetrack. They’ve done a progressive banking there, which I like, and that they should do at a lot of other racetracks. It’s definitely a driver’s racetrack. Hopefully we’ll have a shot.” DO YOU FEEL FORTUNATE TO FINISH IN THE TOP-10 AT ATLANTA AND TEXAS DESPITE NOT HAVING A GOOD DAY? “We did that at our two worst racetracks: Dover and Atlanta. We came away with top-10s in both. That’s an accomplishment for our team. When you’re having a bad, bad day and still able to finish 10th that definitely means a lot. It just shows the potential for our race team and future and hopefully we just build upon that and be as competitive as like the 48 has been over the last three or four years.” IS THE POPULARITY OVERWHELMING? “No, it’s not really overwhelming. To me, it’s like the garage keeps getting younger and younger: the crew guys, the drivers and the crew chiefs. It seems like it just keeps getting younger every single year. You can’t beat experience by any means but a lot of these guys coming out of college that have all these degrees bring a lot to the sport. I think you’re seeing that in drivers as well, like Ryan Newman. For us, it’s just having fun and enjoy it while I’m here.” HOW DO YOU STAY YOURSELF AND NOT CHANGE? “Mainly because I’m just a country guy from Virginia [smiles]. I don’t know how else to be. It’s just the way I am and the way I will be until I grow up. To me, I may be 25 years old but I act like I’m 15 at times. I still have the kid in me and I go around here and joke around with guys and have a lot of fun with it. Eventually, I’ll mature and I’ll probably just get quiet then.”