"I've approached Talladega two different ways. Sometimes we get right up in there and just don't care. And if we get wrecked, that's just the consequence of what we decided to do that day. I've done it that way and had it work out great, and I've also done it that way and wrecked on Lap 5 and felt like, 'Oh, that was the dumbest thing I've ever done.'

"I've also done the other option where I've just laid back and ridden around, and everyone else wrecks out, and then we get a top-10 run out of it and have a great day. And I've also done it that way where I've ridden in the back and got wadded up trying to come back through the field at the end and felt, 'Well, that was the dumbest thing I've ever done.' There's no right way to do Talladega. But we'll do our best to get a good finish for our Rinnai Ford.

"It's definitely grueling. It's all mental. It's not physical at all. You're sitting there playing with inches at 200 miles an hour for four hours. Eventually, someone's going to make a mistake."

JUST THE FACTS: Whitt has five Sprint Cup career starts at Talladega Superspeedway ... He has two top-15 finishes at the 2.66-mile oval ... Rinnai Tankless Water Heaters returns as primary sponsor of the No. 35 Ford ... Whitt will be at the Ford Performance stage in the Fan Zone on Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

FRM PR