TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Observers of the Sprint Cup Series, whether they've been around since the first Cup Chase championship in 2004 or they're more recent converts, are about to see the real effect of racing pressure.

On the eve of the Chase's acknowledged "wild card" race at Talladega Superspeedway, the championship points are the closest they've ever been after six of 10 Chase races.

“

No one is immune to getting nervous. That's just impossible, even though it may seem like that, on the race track, because very few mistakes are being made. There are nervous times, for sure, and I don't think anyone is immune to it.

”

-- DENNY HAMLIN

Four-time defending Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson has a six-point lead on Denny Hamlin and a 62-point edge on Kevin Harvick. Johnson on Friday said he was "excited" to be here.

"It definitely is the wild card -- at the end, when everyone is still trying to get the best finish they can, it's just full chaos at that point," Johnson said. "I think coming to the checkered last year, Mark [Martin] and I were nose to tail, obviously in a tight points battle. The crash collected him and fortunately it didn't collect us and we went on.

"So, with all that being said, we're excited to be here. I really, really do enjoy racing at this race track. I had a blast here in the spring [but] when you come back at the end of the year and the points are on the line, it's a more stressful event."

Hamlin and Harvick on Friday said pressure might come into play, not only this weekend -- where a 20-car pileup is a possibility -- but also in the final three races of the season if the points remain as close, or get closer.

"I think Jimmie can feel pressure -- no one is immune to getting nervous," Hamlin said. "That's just impossible, even though it may seem like that, on the race track, because very few mistakes are being made. There are nervous times, for sure, and I don't think anyone is immune to it."

But Hamlin paused to quantify his comment.

"I just think [Johnson] handles it a little bit better."

In general, that's been the case, but Talladega is maybe Johnson's worst overall track in the Chase, where he has the highest percentage of DNFs, 41 percent, of any of the 12 drivers in the Chase.

"In the past, I know our record doesn't show us as a favorite but a lot of it has been because of the strategy we've run," said Johnson, whose only win here came in the spring of 2006, his first championship season. "We just haven't been at the front -- we've been at the back trying to be smart. But I don't think this is anyone's last chance to break out.

"I think that all three drivers that are in contention right now have four really good race tracks, especially the final three for all three teams." (Continued)