Over the Thanksgiving holiday I took time to reflect on what is most important to me and realized I need to find a way to put the fun back into racing.
That’s what I try to do each and every week is give my best effort and not give up, no matter what comes at us.
The Daytona 500 is a big race, and Darlington is just as big of an event, and a lot of people get excited for it.
This 51 Phoenix Racing team, I love them to death. They’ve got my back, I’ve got theirs.
James Finch has always had pretty stout cars for the restrictor-plate races and I know we’ll be very competitive at Daytona.
Leaving a great organization and a lucrative contract is not easy, but it allows me to take a deep breath and work on things that can make me a better driver and a better person.
There wouldn’t be any way I could have jumped into Cup with the success I had without the truck series. I wish I had more time to spend there. There are so many things the truck teaches you about aerodynamics, the professional ranks of racing, and working with a professional team.
I also appreciate the lasting friendships I’ve made while working with our great sponsors through the years, including Miller Lite, Shell and Dodge.
My father instilled in me a love for racing.
I wouldn’t say it came easy, but I understood how to win and I determined how I could do it.
There are a lot of lessons that you learn, and you have to learn them quickly if you want to be competitive at this top level.
Dale Earnhardt told me it doesn’t matter if fans boo or cheer, as long as they’re making noise.
You really don’t put a value on your first win, it is priceless no matter where you are.
I am grateful to Penske Racing for six very productive years. Together we won a lot of races – 16 in all. I’m proud that we won on a variety of tracks.
Is my strike zone bigger than others? Yeah. It might be bigger than others, but I don’t have a problem with it.
I’ve been fined probably more than any driver, and I’ve probably paid it out of my own pocket more than any driver.
I know where my priorities lie.
I’m on probation, so I can’t even pick my nose the right way.
It’s better sometimes to be lucky than good.
It was such a dramatic escalator that I was on. It was at 90 degrees. I was going straight up like a rocket ship into space. And I was thrown in with the sharks. They said sink or swim in this Cup deal.
Each driver has their own identity and from one week to another, normally it stays the same.