That was me on Sunday. I know the race was only 400 miles, but afterward it felt like I had driven 800.

I don't know what was wrong with the car. Robbie Reiser (crew chief) and the guys will be dissecting the car this week to figure it out, and I think we'll all be anxious to see what the problem was. My hat's off to the crew, who earned their money in a big way on Sunday. We stopped 17 times during the race, and really, if it wasn't for so many cautions, we would've finished somewhere around 35th.

That's how bad we were.

But, the guys never gave up. We adjusted everything we could possibly think of to try to tighten the car up, but nothing worked. We'd run about four laps on new tires and the car would feel decent and then, whatever was wrong with it would take over and it became so loose getting in and off the corners it was uncontrollable.

I mean, when I spun out coming off of four about all I could do was laugh, because I knew there wasn't much I could do differently.

The great thing about racing is you don't have long to dwell on last week's performance _ a 23rd-place finish that dropped me to fourth in the Chase standings.

This week we're at Talladega Superspeedway, and the first thing that everyone will ask _ and it's already been asked to me about three or four times _ is `Do you think about the possibility of wrecking?' I used to think more about it than I do now, simply because our superspeedway cars have been so good that we've usually been able to run up front for about the last five restrictor-plate races.

Not to say that you can't wreck up front, but I think it definitely reduces your chances.

Everyone seems to be pointing at this race as being the ``wild card'' in the Chase. Maybe so. Personally, I'm more concerned about Martinsville at this point because we've struggled there throughout the years, it's one of my least favorite tracks and we've had our share of brake problems.

But, Talladega _ if you're using the brakes there, something bad is probably about to happen.

___

Kenseth's Q&A with AP Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer:

Q: You've kind of snuck up on people at plate races lately, with four top-10 finishes in the last five, and you've led laps in all three of them this season. What's with the sudden emergence as a player with the DEI and Hendrick cars?

A: ``Honestly, our cars have been faster. That's really the biggest thing. To be competitive at a plate race, you've got to be able to do right and have a fast car that is capable of running up front. Talladega, more so than Daytona, is at least 90 percent car so you have to be fast because that's all that matters.

``There are times that I really enjoy it, like when the car is running good and it's up in the draft and you know you can make a run for the win. And there are other times I don't, like when you are stuck in the middle and just watching everyone bang into each other. That's not very fun at all. But that's what Talladega is, running wide-open, three- and four-wide all day and the drivers don't have a handle on what's going on around you. It's basically everyone setting their cruise control at the same speed and putting yourself at other people's mercy. It's certainly at times nerve-racking.''

Q: So you get to celebrate your 250th career start this Sunday at Talladega. Does running that many races carry any significance to you?

A: ``Not really. I mean, I guess it's pretty cool to make that many races, and not that many people get to do what we do every week. Almost all of those starts are in a row, so that's kind of cool, I haven't missed a race since I started running full-time. I mean, it's a milestone. It is what it is.''

Q: Last week didn't go that well for you, and since everyone says you can only have one bad race in the Chase, do you consider your Kansas finish your ``mulligan?''

A: ``I don't really think about it like that. You just go out and do the best you can do each week. Last week was last week, there's nothing I can do to fix it now, so I just have to move on to Talladega and try to pull off a good finish there.''

Q: OK, so you were 3-0 in fantasy football going into the weekend, and you had a pivotal matchup against your 13-year-old son, Ross, who was also undefeated. Who won that epic battle?

A: ``Ugh, he ended up beating me by two points and that kind of stuck. It came down to the Monday night game, and I had Greg Jennings. He needed to get me about 40 more yards. But I think Ross really just lucked out. He's got a lot of Chicago Bears players on his team, and this is the first year in about 20 that the Bears have done anything good. I'll get him back.''

Q: You're a pretty skinny guy. I imagine you must work out to stay in shape? Or at least watch what you eat?

A : ``Of course I watch what I eat _ you always have to look at it before you eat it and I've never eaten in the dark. But, no, I don't work out. I used to quite a bit, but nothing anymore. I guess I just stay in shape by racing all the time.''