Chicago is one of those race tracks that you love to go to. It's just incredible. The weather should be outstanding.

But I have a feeling it's going to go down to Pomona (at the Auto Club Finals in November). I don't see anyone backing down.

If the weather really does cool down this weekend in Dallas it will be great, ... Even if it doesn't, that's OK, because we can run in the heat.

I'm not trying to make this Funny Car championship chase so close,

It's always harder to defend. I never thought we'd have the start that we had. Effort equals results, except in this case, because we put a lot of effort into this program over the winter and every week and we're just not seeing the results.

It was a serious run. I know we were on the limiter. I'm impressed with how these guys are working. They're really on it.

It's as tough as it gets right now,

This just shows how deep the talent level in Funny Car is, ... No one is intimidated by John Force or the Schumacher cars. The field is deep.

This is when I seem to rise to the occasion. I'm excited about it. I'm ready to go to these next four races. If it were up to me, we could just do them all in a row.

This is a must-win race, ... Then we've got to go to Pomona (Calif.) and win there. The games are over. We need to do our thing and get it done and let everyone else worry about us.