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Title contenders have fun with each other during jovial pre-finale media session
MIAMI BEACH — The four drivers racing for the 2016 Sprint Cup Series title are enjoying each other’s company. So far, anyway.
The media day gathering with Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson produced much more in the way of jokes and laughter than it did trash talk. Though Johnson did deliver a threat to the three other drivers on stage.
“I’m going to wreck them all in practice,” Johnson said. “First lap of practice, just wreck everybody.”
We’re not going to pretend for a moment that the six-time champion was serious.
The jovial day was a good sign for the respect Logano has from the three drivers he’s racing against. When Logano was a part of the final four two years ago he was at the receiving end of the intimidation, most notably from Kevin Harvick, who won the 2014 title. But Harvick wasn’t here to play mind games with anyone. And neither Busch, Edwards or Johnson were willing to step in his place.
“When I was up here a couple years ago and I was up here and I got a question about the people that say you have to lose one to win one, and I thought that was the biggest line of BS I’ve ever heard in my life,” Logano said. “And I didn’t like that statement, and I don’t believe that you have to lose one to win one, but I do believe you learn a lot by going through the experience once and going through this actual format once, through this whole weekend.
“At that point, like Jimmie said, I was the guy that sat here for the first time on the stage with these lights on me in a do‑or‑die moment. I’ve never had that before. That was the first time for me. And I made a lot of mistakes throughout that weekend, not just on the racetrack but preparation and how I got there. I didn’t know what I was doing, so I had to learn.”
Edwards probably enjoyed the atmosphere too. The last time he was in a situation like this was in 2011 when he — as you know — lost the title to Tony Stewart on a tiebreaker. As Edwards and Stewart gathered before the media five years ago to discuss what’s still the Cup Series’ greatest Chase race, Stewart remarked that he’d even wreck his mother to win a championship.
“I got to my hotel the other night in New York, flipping through the channels, I was like, what the hell is that on the TV, and it was that [2011] race, and I thought ‑‑ I sat and watched it, and I thought, man, this is really motivating,” Edwards said. I really, really want to win this one.”
The atmosphere was very similar to last year’s media day session as Busch, Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. deferred to Jeff Gordon before what we all thought was going to be the final race of Gordon’s career.
Busch won that race at the 2015 championship and noted the similarities.
“Being in it last year, I thought it was pretty fun,” Busch said. “It was kind of more a sending off of Jeff, if you will, so we were all kind of cordial with each other because we probably kind of had to be because it was nice to be for Jeff.
“This year it’s just been fun. These guys are easy to get along with, easy to talk to, easy to have a good time with and joke around and mess around, so it’s been good.”
With a title on Sunday, Busch becomes the ninth driver in Cup Series history to win consecutive titles. And the first since Johnson won five-straight from 2006-2010. A championship Sunday gives Johnson a seventh title and ties him with Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty for most in history.
“I know it’s here,” Johnson said of the opportunity to tie. “I know that I’m as close to this opportunity as I’ve ever been, but I’m not climbing in that car Sunday saying, I’ve got to win seven. I’m saying, I’ve got to win a championship. It’s my own personal thing that I want to do.”
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
