You gotta block out the pressure, block out all those things that could potentially happen and get the job done. Martin truex jr. Sending a strong, strong message to the rest of this entire field. Youre pretty much back to zero and you have to prove yourself again and over and over and over again. Every position matters, every point matters. The next three weeks the intensity will definitely ramp up. It doesnt matter what you did or what youre going to do. Its really about now. Welcome to nascar racing on nbc. Its the bank of america 500 from Charlotte Motor Speedway. Lets take a look at the chase grid. You see that after last week in dover, there are now just 12 drivers who still have a chance at the championship. Seven races remain, and the stakes keep getting higher. Its win and advance. Elliott and Austin Dillon are looking for their first win and a victory here at charlotte would ensure a spot in the next round of the playoffs for one of these 12 drivers. Welcome to the bank of america 00. Steve letarte, jeff burton im rick allen. Really this round of 12 ends with talladega, probably one of the most unpredictable races we could have. That makes charlotte and it does. At talladega anything can happen. Weve seen the wrecks, weve seen people running really, really well and to mog sanctify issue for these teams many believe this is the most competitive 12 teams that ever moved into the round of 12 so you need a good finish here but its going to be very difficult to get. If the pressure of this race wasnt already high the schedule for the weekend has been a struggle, while the teams were on track practice, practiced in qualifying, friday was washed these teams have been on the racetrack. Some prepared for a night race. Now we have a day race. Which team guessed right on the setup they need in their car. Steve, who has the advantage to a day race here at charlotte . You have to look at Jimmie Johnson, he hasnt won a race here since 2014 they showed a lot of speed lately. They have to clean up a few pit road mistakes. I have to believe the 78 of martin truex jr. , won two of the first three races in this format. T they have momentum going. Dont forget the pole setter Kevin Harvick, you have consider hell be a threat as well. You can never forget the guy who starts up front. You can see the bank of america startup screen at the top there. As far as the practice time they were on the track on thursday, that was it. Friday and saturday theyve been sitting either in their buses or at home watching it rain here. Mentality of a driver and a team . I think these drivers have to remain calm because the pressure of the chase is here, and when you sit with all that pressure, it could become overwhelming at times. So how do you deal with the pressure . Can you stay calm . Can you stay poised . We know theres a caution coming on lap 25 due to the weather, rick, we have a competition caution coming. More importantly the drivers need to stay calm and relax. Its a 500mile race. The unknown is what theyre afraid of. Is the track going to be loose, is it going to b with limited practice and the practice they did there was more rubber on the racetrack. So many unknowns. There is going to be a competition caution at lap 25 as we take a look at the ge track facts for Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race length 334 laps, 500 miles. Pit road speed 45 miles per hour. That is a pedestrian speed when they come onto pit road, because theyll be going upwards of 200 miles an hour when they enter turn number one but the fuel your goodyear tires to easily go 57 to 60 laps. I expect the teams to push the speed. 500 miles, seems like we forget the length of the race and how important it is for the crews, teams and creigh chiefs on top of the pit box to have a good strategy throughout the day. Strategy is going to come into play very quickly now as the pace car exits on to pit road. The field in the hands of Kevin Harvick and alex bowman as they come to the green flag, were racing in the round of 12. Bowman is a rookie on the outside of the front row, did not get a good restart. Kyle busch three wide on the outside. All the way up to the wall on the first lap. We saw Jamie Mcmurray up there, also the 18 of kyle busch takes second away. Could be very interesting to sunshine. This is a race normally run at night, the 600 earlier in the year ends at night. How is this track going to react to a day race . Right here when they ender turn number one theyll be going the fastest, over 00 miles an hour. Slow down to 17 omiles an hour so they dont throw is down much through the center of the turn but right down on the gas and the back straight. Were seeing right now, some guys making moves on the outside lane b your screen will be one of the first guys to jump up on the outside and trying to advance his position. This group will move around all day long as the rubber gets laid on the racetrack. 500 laps, excuse me, 500 miles, 334 laps. Kevin harvick out front, Chase Elliott has taken over second. Kyle busch drops to third. Alex bowman and tony stewart are the top five. Jimmie johnson making his move on the inside. Riding along with martin truex jr. , we see him moving the high line getting by the 10 of Danica Patrick coming up on the 19 of carl edwards. 17 is ricky steou contenders, bottoms out big time, almost gets into the side of the 22 of logano. Fortunately they did not make contact and moved forward but that right there is a great example of how all these drivers are nervous about the unknowns and what can happen. Look behind, look right here this car, the red and white car the 42, he is absolutely flying already. Kyle larson started 25th, and working that outside lane has moved himself up to 12th in only Ricky Stenhouse jr. Another chase competitor that has to be patient in this race. Matt kenseth in the 20 car had to go to the tail of the field and make an adjustment in inspection, they found an issue in the race car already presented for inspection. You see going along the outside of chris buescher. Matt kenseth having to remain patient and get you watch matt kenseth move up to the field the left side of your screen. Already gained seven positions, make it eight when he crosses the finish line this time. He preached that to me as well about the patience he has to exhibit early in this race. You can work your way up but look at what hes doing, middle of the groove hes been running this entire time. The track at Charlotte Motor Speedway laid down a lot of rubber before the cars showed up. The rubber seemed to have stayed through the rain the last couple during preracing. You can use that high lane if the rubber and grip is there but its tough to be the first guy up there. We saw kyle larson make it work and joey logano cleaned Jamie Mcmurray on the outside. To be 100 honest im surprised its good already. If its this good now it should only get better as the race moves forward. I loved when people use the word patience and racing. Theres a difficult balance you would have to have, be patient and yet at the same time youve miles an hour into turn one and be literally inches away from your competition. We ride on board with the 4 car of joey logano, thats what makes theses drivers the best in the world. They can thrive on the edge of chaos. They can be 1 or 2 away from out of control but be completely in control, understand their surroundings and truly its like a premier athlete, pushing their exertion level. How much can their heart rate take . He knows how much he can push the issue so patience is a awe neek word when it comes to racing but the great ones have it. They do have it. Were on the 4 incar camera with joey logano. Watch what joey logano is doing. Its not by chance he has the car the way he wants it to be. Much like a fb with football he has to execute and when to desomething sell rate and when to reaccelerate to build that speed coming off the corner. People think about driving a as you can. Thats not the way you drive a race car. You drive a race car with precision, with your brain. It is a game of tenths of a second, hundredths of a second. See how smooth joey logano is. Lot of whats going on right now in this race car hes trying to understand what does my car do well . What doesnt it do well to communicate that with his team so on the lap 25 caution they can make their car better. Joey logano continuing to battle to try to move forward. Mike massaro and Kelly Stavast will continue to give you the stories down on pit road as they develop. Again, the 20 of matt kenseth having to start at the back because of an unapproved adjustment prior to the start of the race. Well watch him battle uhm as Chase Elliotts biding for the lead. Elliott goes to the inside and takes the top spot away from Kevin Harvick. Kevin harvick had a little much better at this point in the race than Kevin Harvick. The rookie has made his way into the chase, showing some muscle early in this race. What is it about Charlotte Motor Speedway . Weve seen nascar superstars get their win here. Another one that comes to mind the young guy that drove the 24 before Chase Elliott, jeff gordon, first ever career win at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Chase elliott out in front at charlotte. And go from serving their country re helping to connect them to an even better future. From Financial Education and Wellness Programs to job training and housing assistance, were partnering with military nonprofits dedicated to helping our troops succeed here at home. If carl wins today, im gonna do a backflip. Maybe when youre dreaming. Guys, im telling you, i can do a backflip. Ive seen carl do it a million times. Enough. Youre good, man. That is a banner. Hand me one of the wings . Uh, this one . Oh yeah, thats good. Toyota. Lets go places. All right dude you got this. You gotta stick the landing. Carl hey man, you want a wing . Crowd Danica Danica danica yeah, you. Danica, you had a rough run in the last lap there, how do you adjust . . Oh, cocacola. . . Youre gonna show . This whole world. . . Youre gonna shine. . Ahhhh . Oh, cocacola. . What was the question again . Uh, i honestly dont remem. . Can you feel it . . Can you feel it . . Upgrade seasons here. I got my new iphone 7 from sprint. Sprint . Im hearing good things about the network. 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Sprint, proud sponsor of the nascar Sprint Cup Series, and by mcdonalds. Im lovin it. Welcome back to Charlotte Motor Speedway. Out in front it is the 24 of Chase Elliott, young 20yearold has still yet to find victory championship but yet to get that first win, although he is one of the 12 drivers still fighting for a championship. The 48 though with six championships definitely had his hands full as we went to commercial break. Yes he did, driving to the bottom of the racetrack in turn one, gets to the bottom and no longer can turn the car. Obviously got really loose right there and had to chase the car up the racetrack. Allowed denny hamlin in the 19 and also carl edwards to get by him. So a little he did end up getting back by carl edwards but obviously nobody is happy with their cars except for Chase Elliott. Jimmie johnson knows how to get around this racetrack, most of alltime as far as wins go at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Seven wins for Jimmie Johnson here. Sprints network reliability, within 1 of verizon. Switch today. Save 50 on most verizon, at t mike . Not only does Jimmie Johnson have seven victories here hes led over 1700 laps on this racetrack. Suffice it so say its been pretty good for him. The cars been a little bit tight and edgy and going into the race felt pretty comfortable with this racetrack. He knows he can make some ground and build a cushion as he heads into the round of 12. Rick, when you look at the 48 of Jimmie Johnson, this is the team tha championshipless in the chase format of ten races but in the elimination format of the chase he never advanced out of this round, never made the round of eight so he has to have in my opinion, jeff, more pressure on the team. To have such a great career and resume but never advanced. You add what happened to him this year while leading races and running well theyve had continuing issues on pit road that have cost him, so speedy having a good run in chicago has been a continuing problem, comes down pit road at dover, once again in the pit box you see on the righthand side of your corner theres a pit crew member thats on pit road too soon, another pit road penalty. We talk about Jimmie Johnson a sixtime champion and how good this race team is, theyve got to clean these mistakes up. They brought more speed, steve, in the races but they havent been executing. Jeff, you brought up a great point at the start of the show and the fact that this is that we have seen fighting for a championship since this format has been put in place. So not only does very to be on his game each and every week, but hes competing against 11 of the best in the sport. You cant make mistakes and hope to advance. Well, he is competing against the 11 best. People say why caution has come out. The competition caution comes out, everyone frozen in their now. So this is an opportunity to gain spots or lose spots. We were just talking about it. All these cars will be on pit road at the same time, youre competing against the best in the business, on pit road in every way, down pit road speed, the pit crews, who falls under pressure and who executes with the pressure . Thats been the problem with the 48. See if they can have a good pit stop here. About to see the first run of pit stops for these teams as we look at the coverage brought to you by Liberty Mutual insurance, helping drivers worry less on the track and the road. Spotters will be busier than normal today with the weather, with the day race, with the moving around of the preferred lines. Weve seen cars already up against the wall, these cars will have to be more than just clearing their race car driver from traffic. Theyre going to have to be informing their drivers what lines should they be in, what looks like the fastest around the racetrack. Coming to pit road at one time. These spotters have to be paying attention whats going on around their drivers. Great aerial views right nou brought to us by our partners at smithfield foods. It will be a great Vantage Point to watch especially the restarts here at charlotte, when they are twowide going into turn one trying to fight for position. We were talking earlier about the strategy. Its already into play with only 25 green flag laps, it will be interesting to see who is going alan gustavsson for Chase Elliott, will he put two or four tires on the car. Will he try to guarantee the race late or will Jimmie Johnson or carl edwards take advantage only putting two tires. Pit road open and theyre coming towards you, mike. Jimmie johnson giving up the seventh position on the racetrack as he comes down pit road. The car has been a little bit edgy. Stopping short in the box so he can get out easier. 48. Kyle busch says the car is good, a little loose. Four tires, air pressure, fuel. Chase elliott fired off well and got snug and started to free up, they made a small wedge adjustment to the right wheel tire and four wheels. Rodney childress says wedge and air pressure for harvick, comes in third, out third. Race off p spots dont change on pit road. Well find out if anyone was quoemp tigs caution has come and gone as the teams get ready to line back up two pi two. Penalties on pit road, the 43, the 27, the 32 and the 20, all had penalties on pit road, over the wall too soon. We saw that with Jimmie Johnson. Want to take a look though at the 24 getting talking about pit road and everybody pushing. The 24 accelerates and gains a car length on the 18, getting on to pit road, and he needed every bit of that car length. Leading in pit road he wins by maybe two feet so without accelerating getting to the pit road the 18 car beats the 24. One of the things weve seen struggled on restarts. The first restart hell be going up against probably one of the best in the Sprint Cup Series in kyle busch, as far as restarts goes. What does Chase Elliott need to do right here . Well, the first thing he needs to do is Pay Attention to himself. Dont let the 18 suck you in to doing something. Youre the leader. You control the restart. Youre the one that takes advantage of being the leader, so when you get into the restart zone do what you do. Dont let the 18 talk you into doing something you to do. Coming into the restart zone, Chase Elliott option to start earlier, green flag back in the air. Side by side as they go into turn number one. Jimmie johnson all the way up three wide. Three wide for third as Chase Elliott tries to side draft the and Chase Elliott will hang on to the lead. So check the box of a good restart for Chase Elliott. You can see how these restarts how crazy they are. This is a chance to pick up spots. You have to be exceptionally aggressive. The guy thats not fighting in there we saw working his way up is matt kenseth, the 47 making a move on the 4 but matt kenseth race, had to go to the back, got penalized again and had to go to the back again, cannot continue to have the mistakes. Another car we didnt get a chance to show it to you live, Brad Keselowski had a little bit of traffic problem on pit road. Not a major issue for the 2 but he has to take time. Riding along with Kevin Harvick looking out of the busch beer onboard camera. Look at it, a. J. Allmendinger did not make the chase, sort of underperformed this year, did to run or they wanted to run and having a really good day today. Kevin harvick into the top four. I wonder you have to look at the lack of practice, the 47 of a. J. Allmendinger had speed thursday in the first day of practice but without the practice on friday didnt catch some other cars off guard, did they not have time to catch up to the 47. Good run so far using what he showed. You mentioned the 2 and issues on pit road. Lets go to pit road with remember Brad Keselowski the only driver to finish in the top five all three races in the first round of this chase. He started 20th. Told me he felt like they could make up some of those positions on pit road. But during that competition clock a little bit of trouble. Heres what they said on the team radio. That was kind of painful there, lost two spots with all the traffic. Well be all right. Just the go got to be patient. A long race, just under 300 300 to go and Chase Elliott has about a 0. 6 of a second lead over kyle busch. Everyone else jockeying for positions feeling out their cars. I liked what Brad Keselowski said over the radio but more importantly i like how he said it, his demeanor. He could have been sitting next to us in the booth very calm, no urgency in his voice. He wasnt just saying its a long race, he sounded like he really believed it. Mike ma sar row . So far during the chase Jimmie Johnson led over 200 laps but does not hav pit road. You cant blame them being selfconscious going continue to pit road the first time today. I was curious about how that was for box approach and where i positioned the car. Honestly thats about the best well be able to do until we get ahead of that 47. So jack talking to him about being conscious on the top. After a speeding penalty at zones, five of them and they practiced coming down pit road with various settings on the digital dash trying to make sure they did not have a similar problem to what they encountered in chicagoland. As for last week the jack man jumping over the wall quickly chad saying it was a sequence of events led to the man jumping off the wall too quickly because the driver had to brake early on pit road. That issue of being over the pit wall too early thing that got the 20 of matt kenseth on the latest round of pit stops. We talk about the game of inches, its a game of seconds. The same way for the pit cruise. They need to try to get over pit walls as early as possible. Theres a crew member for the 20 team on pit road and the 20 of matt kenseth has yet to come to that line, that red line is imposed by nascar, one pit box away. Youre not allowed to be on the ground before that red line for safety, they dont want the cruise out there early. The 20 was too early, marty, and back of the field, restarted 31st and already gained a few positions on this one. Here was the radio traffic after they told matt about the kenseth. We jumped earl i will, too . Yes, 104. Thats what were saying. I donted, kind of confused but okay. Matt told the team, hey, listen, weve all got to get my act together. We cant keep hurting ourselves, jeff. We talked about all the need to get that cleaned up in the chase especially if you want to win a championship. Marty, youre right. It does have to get cleaned up. Difficult but its your job. Gao to the make it happen. 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