USA TODAY International Edition
DRIVERS FEEL PRESSURE
High stakes of revamped Chase show in Phoenix
AVONDALE, ARIZ. Brad Keselowski walked briskly off pit road after his qualifying lap Friday at Phoenix International Raceway, giving uncharacteristically curt answers to the reporters chasing him.
How’s the outlook for this weekend, Brad?
“Win the race or go home,” he said.
What do you have to do to make the car better in Saturday’s practice sessions? “Find speed,” he said. Is that an easy task or a difficult one?
“As difficult as we make it,” he said.
Keselowski might not admit he’s feeling the pressure of being in a win- or- eliminated scenario on Sunday, but his demeanor seemed unusual for a driver known as being media- friendly.
If so, he wouldn’t be the first driver to show a different side under the weight of the revamped Chase for the Sprint Cup. The high stakes have made seemingly rational drivers lose their cool ( Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon come to mind) through a series of points resets and eliminations that continually wipe out any advantages earned.
That pressure of having to perform in short bursts — capped off by next week’s one- race playoff for the championship at Homestead- Miami Speedway — has perhaps made the new Chase the most difficult format yet.
“It’s definitely more mentally challenging than I’ve ever ( experienced) in a championship hunt before,” defending champion Kevin Harvick said. “( When the Chase starts) the pressure doubles, triples because you know that you have to perform that day, at that moment. You have three weeks to get it done in order to get to the next round.
“There is so much more pressure just because there is so much more on the line. You’ve got to make it happen. Sometimes it brings out the best in people.”
Harvick is likely one of those — at least in elimination races. He’s 3- for- 3 in must- win situations, starting with the Phoenix race one year ago. He then won the championship race at Homestead- Miami Speedway and staved off elimination in the first round this season with a win at Dover International Speedway.
He’s not in a must- win scenario on Sunday, and Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Carl Edwards also don’t have to win the race ( although it would help).
But Harvick’s Stewart- Haas Racing teammate Kurt Busch has to win, along with Keselowski and Joey Logano. These sort of must- win situations rarely existed until last year, when officials unveiled the new format.
It could be argued the drivers in trouble each had two other races to avoid being in this position, and that in the old Chase format, two poor finishes would probably doom a driver’s championship hopes anyway.
So does the “Get out of jail free” card that comes with a win in the new Chase make it more forgiving?
“In this format, if you can be solid through the tracks that maybe you are not as great at, but then really nail the ones that you are, then in that sense it could maybe somewhat be easier,” fourtime champion Gordon said. “But it still all comes down to Homestead. I think in that sense it’s harder because you are up against three other drivers and teams on equal terms and you have to finish ahead of those drivers.”
Jimmie Johnson, who won six titles in the old Chase format, said the current edition of the Chase is more difficult, although he said that wasn’t the reason he has yet to make the championship race.
“It’s been more on our own shoulders in not performing,” he said. “I don’t blame the format for us not having a chance. It’s been us.”
But it certainly has some impact on drivers’ playoff hopes — it’s just not entirely clear what that is. The pressure is too great to argue otherwise.
As the new Chase matures, more evidence will be available to see exactly which drivers excel and which struggle in the unpredictable system.
In that sense, Sunday’s race at Phoenix is another step toward figuring out which drivers can perform at their highest level with everything on the line.