by Larry McReynolds

Comment

Like Jeff Gordon said, the No. 48 won't lose the championship on performance. Without any mechanical problems, Johnson won't run worse than 18th, but Phoenix proved that anything can happen. Carl Edwards sat on the pole and dominated for 87 laps before the engine fell apart. I've got to believe the No. 48 will be a little conservative with its engine package, but there's such a fine line.

When Gordon went to Victory Lane at Phoenix to wave the white flag, he surrendered. But he can't. He's got to go to Homestead, try to lead the most laps, try to win the race and it is what it is from there.

In 1992, we should have won a championship with Davey Allison and the No. 28 car. We didn't get beaten by the competition; we beat ourselves. After winning at Phoenix, we took the point lead back from Alan Kulwicki. The minute we took the lead and prepared for Atlanta, we started doing things that weren't part of getting the point lead.

If I'm No. 48 crew chief Chad Knaus, I'm telling my pit crew that I don't need 11 1/2 to 12-second pit stops. That doesn't mean 18-second pit stops either, but just make sure we don't have any lugs loose. Engine builders don't need to provide 8 bazillion horsepower, just put something in that will make the car competitive.

Unless it's a cut tire under green, a mechanical failure out of their control or someone else's problem, there's no way the No. 48 team is going to lose the championship.

It's phenomenal to see them dominate because the competition is so tough. Just look at two guys that are having championship runs in the Chase. Jeff Gordon has two wins, five top fives and eight top 10s. His worst finish in the first nine Chase races is 11th. Just look at the model for winning a title — year in and year out, whether it's Chase format or not — there's no way a run like that loses a championship. Look at Matt Kenseth. He has four consecutive top-five finishes, but he bobbled from Dover through Charlotte and fell out of the mix.

NASCAR probably has the longest season of any professional sport that's out there. We essentially start our season on Valentine's Day and end it on Thanksgiving. Unlike golf, football, baseball, basketball, tennis or hockey that actually have off-seasons, ours doesn't stop. Weather is rapidly closing the window on tracks for testing, but the week after Thanksgiving, teams will test Lakeland, Fla. People don't like to hear it, but when the checkered flag waves at Homestead, it's only 91 days until the Daytona 500. It's less than two months until these teams begin testing in Daytona.

When I look back at 2007, we lost a lot of friends, but we lost three very dear ones that meant so much to our sport. Before the season started, we lost Benny Parsons who did so much for NASCAR as a driver and a broadcaster. We certainly want to continue to remember Benny and what he did for our sport.

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We lost the man who was the reason behind what we're doing today, and that's Bill France Jr. Every time I roll into a racetrack, I think about Bill France Jr. because he's the reason why I'm there. Sure, tons of people like NASCAR president Mike Helton and former COO George Pyne have made a difference in our sport, but when it's all said and done, Bill France Jr. is the reason this sport is where it is. He was the backbone for so many years.

We lost another member of the France family tragically when Bruce Kennedy died in a plane crash. When the France family #&151 whether it was Bill Jr., his daughter Lesa or any of them were running around with their hair on fire — Bruce had a calming effect, saying, "Just calm down. Everything is OK." We certainly want to remember the loss of a lot of people this year, but in particular, those three people.

Last weekend, we celebrated Veteran's Day, honoring the people that have fought and are fighting for our freedom each and every day. We get up every morning, and we take for granted that we're going to be safe. Over a quarter of a million people will pile into Homestead-Miami Speedway over the course of three days and feel safe because of what our military men and women have done for us and are doing for us today.

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FOX race analyst Larry McReynolds has more than 25 years of NASCAR experience as a mechanic, crew chief and broadcaster. He and his fellow Crew Chief Club members take you behind the wall at www.crewchiefclub.com.

"How to Become a Winning Crew Chief" is on bookstore shelves, or you may order your own autographed copy from www.DWStore.com.