Just a few hours before the race at Talladega, Jeff Gordon talked with the media and shared his thoughts on going into the race. Gordon is currently second in the Chase behind teammate Jimmie Johnson. Driving the No. 24 DuPont /Pepsi Impala SS, Gordon has won four companionships and is ready to take another one.

During the practice, Chase contender Denny Hamlin was chastised by NASCAR for aggressive driving.  Here’s what Gordon had to say about that:  "I didn’t see what happened. He got into the back of me. Maybe it was a little harder than it should have been but that’s these cars. That’s the situation that we’re in right now. So I don’t know. I didn’t see what happened."

Being a superspeedway, the race in Talladega has always had crashes. Gordon is wary about that and talked about his thoughts on how to deal with the situation come raceday. When asked whether he would hang in the back of the pack to avoid pile ups, he said:  "I don’t know. I tried that before and I just couldn’t do it. But I think that what you’re going to see is a lot of shuffling. You’ll see a guy who drives to the front and then he goes to the back. So you’re going to see a lot of that. If we get up front and can stay there, I want to stay there. But if you can’t get to the front or if you get shuffled from the front to the back, then maybe we will ride in the back. I don’t know."

He added that:  "I think you’ve got to evaluate every situation differently. If it looks like it’s a little bit too out of control out there, that might be a better option. There is no guarantee any where on this race track that if a crash happens, that if you’re riding in the back you’re going to be out of it; or if you’re up front leading that that’s not going to happen. So, all you can do is drive the best you possibly can. If it’s your day to get caught up in it, then it’s your day. And if it’s your day not to, then you won’t."

As for the track, Gordon said that the race in Talladega is like playing Russian roulette.  "This is one of the most spectacular tracks we have on the schedule. I think that while we all know it’s like playing Russian roulette when we come here, I still think it’s one of those races that it’s too spectacular not to be in the Chase," said Gordon.