Out of the lead, time for Gordon to flip the switch (cont'd)

"You see it in sports. You see teams step up," said Jeff Burton. "We saw it last year with the Indianapolis Colts. Their defense was struggling, and they go into the playoffs, and it was like an unbelievable defense. There is a way to do it. I think it's a timing issue. Every team is working hard, every team is putting a lot of effort in. I think it's just being right at the right time. I don't know how to ask more out of my guys, I don't know how to ask more out of myself. If all the things that we've learned come together at the right time, then we could have a chance."

Added Carl Edwards: "It's not try harder, it's just try smarter. You have 10 weeks. It's like my spotter Bobby Hudson says, 'there's a pot of gold right at the end of this rainbow right here, you just have to go get it.' Whatever you do, you can't get in a car wreck driving to McDonald's in the middle of the week. You can't get sick. You can't have something on pit road. You can't have an engine failure. All those things can stop you from a championship. All you can do is try to contain all those things and minimize risk."

Kenseth, whose championship under the old points system was built on numbing consistency, doesn't necessarily agree.

"I know people talk about it and it makes a good story and all that, but I've never showed up for one of these races and not tried as hard as I could to win it," he said. "And I sure hope my team hasn't shown up and never tried as hard as they could. I don't buy that. Man, this is the Nextel Cup Series. This is the most competitive form of stock-car racing there is anywhere. It's a big deal to win these races and run up front. I try as hard as I can to do that every week."

Perhaps the change of location has something to do with it. Only seven days, several hundred miles, and several degrees in temperature separate Richmond, where the regular season ends, from Loudon, where the postseason begins. But to drivers, the difference in mentality is enormous.

"It's a huge change in mentality," Edwards said. "If we're leading the race at Loudon and a valve spring breaks, I'll be in the motor home crying. This [Richmond race] is way different. All we had to do tonight was come here and win a race. We didn't win, and everything else is all the same. At Loudon, that's not the case. The difference between 13th and 10th could mean a championship. So it's every last position, every last point."

Coming to Richmond, only the 12th and final Chase spot was truly in doubt. Most of the other drivers in the championship round have had weeks to prepare for the last 10-race stretch, a fact Burton believes assists in a change of mentality.

"I've come at it from two different points of view," he said. "Last year we came to Richmond and it was real stressful. We were one of many people who had to race their way in. It was very close. It was a huge relief when we got in, and then it was like, we immediately go into the championship. This week, we have had three weeks or so to get ourselves in championship mode, so that's a difference. I don't think there's any question you'll see the intensity level pick up, because you saw so many people already locked in this year. I think you'll see the intensity level pick up, and the races are going to be pretty phenomenal."