DOVER, Del. -- If there's a sense of urgency in the garage area at Dover International Speedway this weekend, particularly for the teams who stumbled at New Hampshire, it's going unnoticed. The same goes for any excessive confidence exuding from around Mark Martin's hauler.

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Last week wasn't exactly what we wanted, but it wasn't a disaster, either. We have to run well every race, and there's still a lot that can happen. It's a relatively short time, but a lot can happen in two or three races.

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-- CARL EDWARDS

When momentum can shift as quickly as one green-flag segment to the next, one bad or one good finish -- especially with nine races remaining -- doesn't seem to faze any of the 12 Chase participants. To a man, they agree: One race does not a Chase make.

Consider the case of Jimmie Johnson three seasons ago. In 2006, he started off the Chase with a 39th-place effort at New Hampshire, then failed to post a top-10 finish in each of the next three races. However, Johnson then reeled off five consecutive finishes of first or second to wipe out a 156-point deficit and go on to win the first of his three consecutive Cup championships.

A blown engine last weekend left Kasey Kahne with a 38th-place finish, putting him 161 points behind Mark Martin. He starts sixth Sunday, and knows he'll need some help to get back in contention.

"We're definitely in a hole, that's part of it," Kahne said. "Hopefully everybody has a bad race and if not, if some of them do and we gain some points back and just do the best job that we can. At this point, all's that we can do is try hard, keep working hard on our cars and engines. I'll keep working on my driving. I think that we'll be all right. We'll gain some spots back."

Carl Edwards finished 17th at Loudon and rolls off 30th in Sunday's AAA 400, but even though he trails Martin by 113 points, he feels no additional pressure.

"With only 10 races in the Chase, there is a little bit of urgency, but it's still 10 races," Edwards said. "Last week, for instance, wasn't exactly what we wanted, but it wasn't a disaster, either. We have to run well every race, and there's still a lot that can happen. It's a relatively short time, but a lot can happen in two or three races." (Continued)