Matt Kenseth Enters Martinsville Speedway In Lighthearted Mood

Pressure from NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup? Matt Kenseth doesn't seem to be feeling any at all.

At least that's what we gathered from his lighthearted, joking mood when he came into the Martinsville Speedway media center on Friday morning – a mood he attributed to drinking "too much coffee."

Whatever the reason, Kenseth certainly seemed to be unaffected by the pressure of sitting second in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings, just 14 behind Chase leader (and teammate) Carl Edwards.

When Kenseth walked into the room on Friday, Jimmie Johnson was still finishing up his media availability and facing some difficult questions from the media.

"One more question!" Kenseth said, standing near TV cameramen.

"This is not gonna go well," Johnson said with a laugh.

"How often you gotta trim that beard to keep it looking that nice?" Kenseth asked.

"Once a week," Johnson replied. "Thank you. I could use a new trimmer if you want to pony up."

"I was just trying to make easy questions for you," Kenseth said. "Trying to divert the attention."

"Man, you're about 15 minutes late!" Johnson said, laughing again.

"Sorry!" Kenseth said.

After Johnson was done, it was Kenseth's turn to field questions from the NASCAR media.

Here's a sampling of some of his comments (keep in mind, these are all meant to be sarcastic or joking):

On Carl Edwards' threatening punch gesture toward Kenseth at Martinsville in 2007: "First of all, I'm just glad he cocked it and didn't fire it, because that would have hurt. I might still be laying out there somewhere."

On whether there could be tension between the two teammates going forward in the Chase: "If it stays 1-2, there's going to be a big fight at Homestead." Who would win that fight? "Who do you think?"

On a reporter who got a word wrong while quoting him: "I'm going to come over there and tear up your paper and yell at the same time."

On the toughest challenge in Sunday's race: "The pink curbs. It's going to be tough to look at 1,000 times. The yellow, you can kind of see where the side is. I think that pink curb is going to be tough. Once it starts turning a little bit black, it'll be easy to run it over. (Reporters laugh) What? I'm serious!"

Asked to describe the personality of team owner Jack Roush: "I think we've got practice here in an hour and a half or something (looks at watch). Seriously."