by Darrell Waltrip

Around the track

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• Dale Jr: Changes needed in NASCAR
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• White: Chasers feel the heat
• Spencer: Drivers to watch at Michigan

So I speak from experience on both sides of the equation. It's a sort of "been there, done that" kind of thing for me.

I mean just look at 1979. I had the championship pretty well wrapped up with about 10 races to go. But then I let my guard down and I broke one of my golden rules. I beat myself and that's the thing that can bite you the worst. It can happen in a number of different ways. It can happen at the shop with car preparation. It can happen not only in the race but all through the race weekend. Whether it's practice or qualifying you can put yourself in a position where you are facing an uphill battle.

But you want to avoid those negatives and not beat yourself. It's definitely the case this Sunday. For all practical purposes, all Jimmie Johnson has to do is basically ride around all day, stay out of trouble and finish 36th or better. If he does that, then the 2008 championship is his. For a team of his caliber, we all know that's a piece of cake but there's still a lot that goes into that.

For instance they have to make the right choice on which car they are taking to Homestead. The engine guys have to be more particular on the engine than they have all season. Jimmie's teammate had a part failure at Phoenix, so those guys are going over everything with a fine-tooth comb. Homestead, with the championship almost within their grasp is not the place to have a motor failure.

You also know that crew chief Chad Knaus is looking over every piece of that race car with the same intensity. The axles, transmission, gears -- basically anything that bolts onto that racecar -- is gone over, verified, re-verified and then re-re-verified. Getting the car prepped just to go to the race track is an incredible effort all in itself.

Once you are at the track, another task is keeping everyone focused. Keeping the pit crew calm and keeping everyone's nerves in check is a big deal. All this falls on the shoulders of one guy and that is Chad. We all know that Chad is an intense guy. We all know Chad doesn't like distractions. We all know Chad doesn't want to be bothered when Chad doesn't want to be bothered. So he really has to suck it up this week and turn everything off. He will have to turn down a mountain of interview requests from the media and appearance requests. He will have to kindly, nicely and politely simply say one word: No. He has to stay focused on the task at hand and then after they win the championship Sunday, then he can be their man for whatever they want.

Knowing Chad the way I do, he will stay focused on his job. He has to get that car prepped and then sit on that tool box on Sunday and call the best race of the year. Whether it's being conservative, or holding his driver back when necessary or simply calming his driver down when needed, it all falls to Chad. If the pit crew makes a mistake, it's Chad's job to calm them down, get them refocused and make sure they forget about it.

The Achilles' heel in this whole thing is the emotions. These guys are trained professionals and highly skilled and trained in what they do. Chad has to keep his, Jimmie's and the crew's emotions under control. They have to be smooth and confident as they have been since the start of the year. They can't be cocky. Everything they have worked for is on the line Sunday. This is for all the marbles.

This team has an opportunity to write their names in the NASCAR record book in tying Cale Yarborough's record from 30 years ago. If they can stay together throughout the offseason, they have a very good chance to eclipse Cale's record and be the only team ever to win four NASCAR Cup championships in a row.

So Sunday is a big race for that No. 48 bunch. But again, it boils down to that one key thing of not beating yourself. Jimmie can't beat himself on the race track. Chad can't beat himself in the pits. The team can't beat itself in car preparation. Those are all pretty manageable things based on the team's performance to this point.

It's a great feeling going into a race and not having the pressure to win. Unfortunately for Carl Edwards, that is all he has. He simply has to go out and win. He has to lead all the laps, get all the bonus points possible, win the race and hope Jimmie falters. Carl knows that unless Jimmie has a problem, Carl can't win the championship. Carl knows that and Jimmie knows that.

I know it sounds simple. I also know people are saying that it's over and it's a done deal but every cliche you have heard in sports will come into play at Homestead this weekend. "It ain't over till it's over" or "it ain't over till the fat lady sings" -- all of those will be spoken this weekend. Bottom line, folks, it isn't over Sunday at Homestead until the checkered flag falls. Even though this No. 48 bunch has a margin of error to play with, they have to be the best they have been all season. This is the race of their life Sunday. If they prep that way and race that way, they'll come out on the other side Sunday as three- time consecutive NASCAR Cup champions.

It's a great feat. There is nothing more satisfying than winning the championship for the year. I came close in 1983 to winning three in a row, so I can sort of imagine what that team is feeling right now. This weekend will be sort of anti-climactic except for one thing and that's if the No. 48 has a problem. If that happens, then it gets interesting but I wouldn't bank on that happening.

Oh, by the way

I will be in Homestead all weekend participating in the Past Champions programs. That's a real honor for the Speedway to bring all the former champions together. I can't wait to see all my old buddies. It's fun when we can do that.

I will also be doing the Truck race broadcast from Homestead. I will be with Krista Voda for the Truck pre-race show and then up in the booth. I am looking forward to that. The Truck Series championship is literally coming down to this race and emotions are high.

Your emotions are like a rubber band. Right now they are twisted as tight as they can be and that's OK as long as the rubber band doesn't break. As the pressure relieves, that rubber band will unwind and everything will be fine. Right now, you are wound tighter than a rubber band. Trust me!