MORE: Series standings | Practice 1 results
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Three of the eight XFINITY Series championship eligible drivers met with the media Friday at Texas Motor Speedway and judging by their remarks, no one was even near ready to call this title run a done deal.
They were reticent, in fact, to even declare a clear-cut favorite.
"I wish it was tighter," Brendan Gaughan joked. "You've got to look at the (Joe Gibbs Racing) cars and say they're definitely the favorites, they've been strongest all year. But then Elliott Sadler had a 50-point lead before the Chase started.
"We already took out two guys who you expected to be in the next round. Everybody has a chance now. Eight guys still have a chance to win the championship right now."
In fact, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Daniel Suarez is tied with JR Motorsports' Elliott Sadler atop the standings. Blake Koch trails them by only seven points. The first six drivers are separated by 14 points.
Gaughan, in seventh place, is 29 points back. Eighth place Darrell Wallace Jr. is 30 back heading into Saturday afternoon's O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge on the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway.
Koch, who went to a back-up No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet after crashing early in Friday's opening practice, said he was absolutely convinced this series title was legitimately still up for grabs. Which four drivers will settle the trophy in the Homestead-Miami Speedway season finale is still anyone’s guess with two races left to set that field.
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"I think it's really tight," Koch said. "You have a three-race points battle that gets intense and anything can happen in any of those races to either put you in or put you out.'"
The 24-year old Suarez, of Monterrey, Mexico, was second fastest in Friday’s opening practice and the quickest among the XFINITY Series regulars. A two-race winner this season, he also felt it was too early to declare a definitive favorite in this inaugural Chase format. Even if he likes his chances.
He finished sixth in this race last year and was 16th here in April.
"I think it's ... you know, it just adds a lot of pressure to everyone and that's normal," Suarez said of the Chase. "When you add pressure to somebody, sometimes you make mistakes and I'm not talking just about drivers -- teams as well, pit crews, everyone -- so I think it's something very cool to see.
"I mean, I think I work well under pressure, but we’ll see in the next few weeks."