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Johnson, Harvick or Hamlin, Chase drivers must master mental side of racing

Drivers battling for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship are in their third elimination round of the Chase. They have three more races — two in which to lock into the championship race then the winner-take-all finale — before the champ is crowned.

They are 33 points races into the season. Mentally, it's been a long and wearing year. So how do those eight drivers battling for the title now deal with that aspect of racing?

It varies, driver to driver. Jeff Burton, formerly a Chase-contending driver and now an NBC analyst, understands this.

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Pressure impacts everyone differently.