By Jimmie Johnson Texas was another good run. That was our fourth consecutive finish in the top two and that's exactly what you have to do to do well in the "Chase." It got pretty exciting there at the end didn't it? I mean we didn't have much for Tony Stewart but nobody else did either. It was just amazing to me how hard you could drive your car lap after lap after lap. I'm used to some give up and the cars never gave up and as the night went on I had to keep pushing myself to run harder. I had one hair-raising moment where the window net popped down and I had to get it back up and latch it. It took me a lap or so to get that and I lost a couple of spots. Thankfully I got that up and didn't have a penalty from that but all in all just a strong night. I'm pretty proud of my race team right now. This Lowe's team was 156 points out of first just four races ago and now we are up by 17 points with two races to go. We never gave up. So how is the strategy going to change now that we have the lead and aren't playing catch-up? Not one bit. We are going to do the same things that got us here. Go to Phoenix and Homestead, not worry about anything but having fun and going fast. I'm serious. I think the thing I have learned about being in the "Chase" is that you have to keep doing what you have been doing all year. That's not just from the racing side of things either. I'm not changing anything in my personal life. Heck, I hope to get a few rounds of golf in during the next two weeks. I think it is the best strategy plus it's kind of fun compared to sitting around worrying about things and making yourself miserable. Well it is on to Phoenix this week. I like the track there. We haven't run as well as I think we are capable there but we have four top-ten finishes in the last five races so I think if we can find just a little bit we will be fine. Related Links:
Jimmie Johnson's "Chase for the Championship" Diary - New Hampshire
Jimmie Johnson's "Chase for the Championship" Diary - Dover
Jimmie Johnson's "Chase for the Championship" Diary - Kansas
Jimmie Johnson's "Chase for the Championship" Diary - Talladega
Jimmie Johnson's "Chase for the Championship" Diary - Charlotte
Jimmie Johnson's "Chase for the Championship" Diary - Atlanta
Jimmie Johnson's "Chase for the Championship" Diary - Texas