For three of the four drivers racing for the NASCAR Cup Series championship this weekend, braggadocio is not inherent to their personalities.
*Kyle Larson
William Byron
Chase Briscoe*
Sure, Larson is good for what those within the industry call #BluntLarson zingers every now and then but he doesn’t go out of his way to give other teams bulletin board material. Briscoe and Byron are generally understated personality types who simply prefer to speak with their work ethic and performance.
“I feel like we’re pretty normal,” Briscoe said of his interactions with the others this week. “I’m sure Sunday we’re not going to be talking and hanging out.Just how media works. You’re just around ’em a lot.
“I don’t know, I’ve seen it from the fan side. Tony (Stewart) would play head games with the others, and all this stuff, and I just don’t feel like there’s any of that here. Maybe I’m just naïve and easygoing and talking to everybody.”
Then there’s *Denny Hamlin* the most braggadocious of them all, who very much isn’t in that mode this weekend either. Maybe he’s just tired. Maybe it’s all the extra work surrounding the antitrust lawsuit the team he co-owns with Michael Jordan has brought against NASCAR.
Perhaps it’s the weight of chasing an elusive championship that has gotten away from him in seven different dramatic ways over the past two decades. He has also admitted that this is the last chance that his father Dennis will have to see him possible earn the crowning achievement.
So, no, there wasn’t any smack talk on Thursday during NASCAR Championship media Day at Phoenix Raceway.
There were just some *kind of* casual conversations with drivers who very much appear to be locked in over the task at hand over the next three days.
*Christmas plans
Commercial versus private flights
Golf handicaps
… super light fare content*
Through it all, Hamlin recognizes that at 44-years-old, the pressure is on him the most.
“Yeah, I would think it would probably be me just simply as of the time left,” Hamlin said.”Is this my last opportunity or not? I think any format change that’s coming that seems like it will be a bigger sample size should be better for me, in general.
“You just never know. You always have to seize the moment, like, right there in front of you. I would certainly probably confirm that the pressure is probably most on me as these guys know they got a long way to go.”
Like hamlin, Byron and briscoe are still seeking their first championships, but unlike Hamlin are 27 and 30, respectively.There’s a lot more runway ahead than behind.
“Honestly, I don’t feel like there’s any pressure,” Briscoe said. “That probably sounds weird to say. Nobody really expected us to be here anyway, so…
“Yeah, there’s really no pressure. I feel like there’s more pressure next year with how good this year went, now the expectations are there. This year there was really no expectation for anything outside of maybe winning a race.
NASCAR Championship Race: Drivers Focus on Weekly Wins, Not the Finale
Phoenix raceway is set for a high-stakes weekend as drivers prepare for the NASCAR Championship Race.However, several key contenders are emphasizing a week-to-week approach, prioritizing winning each race rather than focusing solely on the championship outcome.
Denny Hamlin articulated this strategy,stating,”I’m just trying to count wins. If you try to start the year and say ‘we are going to win the championship,’ it’s really hard to work this sport backwards from the result to the execution of the result.” He added that his focus has been on “how do I win the weekend,” allowing him to be less concerned with points standings and capitalize on opportunities when they arise.
Kyle Larson echoed this sentiment, noting that his team prepares for each race as if it were the final race of the season. “I think we on the 5 team…prepare really good every week. We prepare like every race is the finale,” Larson said. He emphasized the importance of maintaining a consistent approach, stating, “Obviously, there’s more on the line [at Phoenix], but I don’t think you want to skew too far from what you’re used to.”
Both Chase Briscoe and William Byron are also focused on performance, aiming to let their on-track results speak for themselves. All four drivers – Hamlin, Briscoe, Byron, and Larson – have already secured their spots in the championship race and are now preparing to compete for the title on Sunday.
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