“Thirty [points] isn't much,” the 36-year-old asserted. “The biggest thing right now is that we're just getting beaten and those guys are winning races. We're very competitive and we've got to put some pressure back on them and out-perform them. They're doing a great job and you can't take anything away from that.
“Phoenix is a good track for us and we'll go there and fight hard just like we did tonight. I think we might be able to beat them next week if we're just talking sheer performance, but he's (Johnson) pretty tough there too. Homestead? We've been great there and we've been terrible there, so I don't really know. I think the car is capable of doing it; we've just got to get the right set-up that makes me comfortable.
“There's not enough of a point deficit right now for anybody to race other than for a win; nobody is trying to protect points. You've got to be smart at the same time, though. Jimmie is an excellent driver; he's smart and knows what he's doing. If this thing comes down to performance, they've out-performed us. If it comes down to staying out of trouble and being smart, I still think we've got a great shot at it.
“All we can do is go to the next race, hope we can turn it around and get some momentum back on our side. We've got to answer back – that's all there is to it.”
![Jeff Gordon - DuPont Chevrolet [pic credit: image.net]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/279900.jpg)
