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A NASCAR BLOG BY Rea White
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Confidence can carry a team to the Chase
Aug
15
It's interesting how confidence works in racing.
Right now, 13 drivers have a very real chance of being in the Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup. Another couple have an outside chance at making the field. Listening to them talk, at least 16 teams still believe they can somehow possibly break into the 12-driver, championship-determining segment of the season. They dismiss a gap of 200-plus points as if those could disappear overnight. They believe in themselves and their teams - and make sure that is clear.
Meanwhile, the men who are in the tightest battle for the final Chase positions don't really talk about it at all. They deny paying close attention to those standings, point out that they race the same regardless, and that until Richmond, the final and deciding race in the Chase, there's really no reason to fret over those standings.
Are they so confident that they don't even recognize the chance of missing the Chase? Of course not. It's just that thinking about that possibility doesn't do anything to help anyone.
And men who are as confident in their abilities and in the talent surrounding them have no time to worry about the negatives. They're too busy focusing on getting on the track and forcing something positive to happen.
Right now, 13 drivers have a very real chance of being in the Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup. Another couple have an outside chance at making the field. Listening to them talk, at least 16 teams still believe they can somehow possibly break into the 12-driver, championship-determining segment of the season. They dismiss a gap of 200-plus points as if those could disappear overnight. They believe in themselves and their teams - and make sure that is clear.
Meanwhile, the men who are in the tightest battle for the final Chase positions don't really talk about it at all. They deny paying close attention to those standings, point out that they race the same regardless, and that until Richmond, the final and deciding race in the Chase, there's really no reason to fret over those standings.
Are they so confident that they don't even recognize the chance of missing the Chase? Of course not. It's just that thinking about that possibility doesn't do anything to help anyone.
And men who are as confident in their abilities and in the talent surrounding them have no time to worry about the negatives. They're too busy focusing on getting on the track and forcing something positive to happen.
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Comments
1 response to "Confidence can carry a team to the Chase"
4da88 said:
Aug 22, 2008 at 8:31 AMThis season is the closest points race for the chase yet. You can bet each knows exactly where they are on the bubble and where they have to run in order to achieve the points they need to make the chase in these final 3 races. Just this past race, after an incident that sent Kasey Kahne to the garage, his concern was to get the car repaired enough to get back on the track and get as many points as possible. There are just too many teams that can drop out of the top 12 for them not to be racing for points. The exception may be Jeff Gordon who has in the past couple of weeks started talking mind games; this is his MO. Relieved of last weeks finish(not)he said all he needs to do is drive all out. IMO, if he is running up front he is not going to take unnecessary risks of a top 5 finish in order to get the win.
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