Contender Round: Wild, intense and full of excitement

CONCORD, N.C. -- After running three races under the redesigned Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has one word for the new playoff system – intense.

“You feel it all week long,” Earnhardt said. “It’s unescapable as far as trying to get it off your mind or trying to take a break from it. You can’t help but feel these nerves of having to deliver on every lap in practice, every qualifying lap, everything matters to the 10th degree when compared to the last format we had last year. 

“The races feel wilder, more intense.”

The new format divides the Chase into several playoff-style rounds, which Earnhardt says increases the pressure to deliver a seamless performance.

“The Chase itself as a 10-race schedule was a wild idea when it first came out,” Earnhardt said.

“This is definitely making things really intense. I think the drivers themselves drive with much greater sense of urgency and everybody is just really super on edge."

Teammate Jeff Gordon plans to combat the high-pressure format by focusing primarily on the upcoming race.

“You do have to somewhat look at just the next three races and not look too far ahead because you've got to make it through to the next round,” Gordon said. “I think we're a team very capable of doing that, and I'm excited about our chances, not just these next three but all the way to Homestead – [but] we can't get that far ahead.

“Sure, the team prepares for those races, to bring cars that can win there, but right now, for me, I'm just thinking about Kansas and nothing else.”

However, despite Gordon’s determination to focus on the upcoming race at Kansas, his mind still wanders to the last race in the Contender Round – the high-speed event at Talladega Superspeedway.

“To me, the chances of wrecking at Talladega these days are about 80 percent,” said Gordon, referring to the “Big One” -- crashes that are often associated with the superspeedway. “The chances are so high the way the racing is, the way the drafting is, that even if you survive the wrecks all the way to the end, there's still probably going to be a wreck at the end.”

As the final race in the Contender Round, the drivers’ finishes at Talladega will ultimately make or break their chances of remaining a Chase competitor. With the mounting pressure resting on each of the Contenders’ shoulders, Hendrick Motorsports Owner Rick Hendrick said that the race will be nerve-wracking for everyone, not just the drivers.

“You know, I might not watch Talladega,” Hendrick joked. “I might go to the next two and let them tell me when it's over.”

Jimmie Johnson echoed the apprehension surrounding the final race of the round.

“Talladega is definitely the wild card,” he said. “If I'm one of the guys that wins at Charlotte or Kansas, it's sure going to make the race at Talladega fun. Otherwise you're just going to be on pins and needles and stressing like crazy.”

And in the new Chase format, that stress won’t go away until the checkered flag waves at Homestead.

“We are all going to be drinking Mylanta before it’s over with,” Earnhardt said. “If we don’t all have holes in our guts by the end of this thing, I will be surprised.”