Chase win brings sense of security, doesn’t halt hunt for more – Nascar

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Win a Chase race and take it easy? Put the ol’ piece on cruise control until the next round?

Not so fast, say NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers.

“The 48 (of Jimmie Johnson), I don’t think he’s going to ride around the track because he’s already won,” said Matt Kenseth, pole winner for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 (2:15 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM) at Kansas Speedway.

“I think everyone shows up with the idea of trying to win.”

Since the debut of NASCAR’s elimination-style format for its Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in 2014, only two drivers have scored multiple wins in any one round. Last season, Joey Logano (Team Penske) won all three races in the second round; Martin Truex Jr. (Furniture Row Racing) won two of three in this year’s opening Round of 16.

“With this Chase format, there’s always talk about winning and desperation and all this stuff,” Kenseth said. “I’ve never been at a race I didn’t want to win and have done everything I could to win the race within a certain extent. For me, that doesn’t really change.”

The Chicagoland victory guaranteed Truex a spot in the current Round of 12 and gave the team an opportunity to ease off the throttle. It was an opportunity not taken. Two weeks after the win, Truex was back in Victory Lane, this time at Dover.

“The first win was huge … just that relief, you know?” Truex said Friday at Kansas. “That feeling of, ‘OK, now in the next two weeks we just go out and try to win.’ The icing on the cake so to speak; a huge confidence booster for us.”

With advancement into the next round already guaranteed, it might seem as if those teams would be more likely resurface in the winners’ circle during a particular round. No pressure, the ability to gamble on pit strategy without the fear of repercussions, and nothing-to-lose approach.

“It’s definitely the approach, but you just can’t take for granted how difficult it is to win in our sport,” Johnson said. “Secondly, I think there are certain tracks that fit certain companies and certain styles that drivers have or a crew chief might have. I think that is a big player as well.

“In this elimination round you could look at a team that has fast 1.5-mile cars and think that they are a favorite for the first two, but Talladega you have no clue what is going to happen there. Then in the next round you have a short track and some big tracks, so it’s just tough. I think it’s real hard to favor or pick a favorite for somebody that could win all three or win multiple times.”

Johnson is the only driver to have competed in the Chase every year since its inception in 2004. He has 29 victories in the Chase, 27 while still in title contention. But the latest format change hasn’t been kind to the No. 48 team or its driver.

In ’14 and ’15, he found Victory Lane only after already being eliminated from Chase contention. Until this season, he had never advanced past the first two rounds of the four-round format.

Last week’s victory at Charlotte was huge. The opportunity for additional victories isn’t one the team takes lightly. Having a win in his back pocket provides a sense of security, but “I want us to have more exposure to race-winning pressure, championship pressure,” Johnson said.

“I feel that makes everybody stronger on the race team and there are trophies to go get. I want more trophies this year without a doubt.

“We are showing up with the normal mindset. I think it would be smart for us to not change anything and take the pressure off of ourselves. You’ve got to be at 100 percent for these final races.”

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