Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
You know, I was pretty comfortable where I was at. We had cars that could win races... I know they're expecting me to perform and do my job. Before this year I can't remember the last time I've ever been nervous at all inside of a race car.
I think social networks are really working for the drivers, because we're able to talk directly to fans and they get first-hand information. And I think it's great for the partners as well and the businesses that are involved in Formula One.
I need to develop a car and engineer a car in a position that feels comfortable for me, and I don't think anyone can do a better job than I can in that position. The problem for me is if I can't get the car there I do struggle more than some.
For as much as I tend to run my mouth sometimes, I would have definitely stacked up better in the 1970s or the 1980s when there wasn't as much media or there wasn't as much publicity and sponsorship around the sport that you had to be PC for.
I respect everything the District Attorney and Sheriff’s Office did to thoroughly investigate this tragic accident. While the process was long and emotionally difficult, it allowed for all the facts of the accident to be identified and known.
I've turned over a new leaf. On TV, Kenny Wallace said I was a pessimist after Charlotte, so I got mad. Now I am so excited about coming back that I just can't stand it. I wish we were starting tomorrow and I'm going to win! That's the new me.
The format of the race weekend is also very well thought out. We have enough practice time to get the cars well set-up and have a proper qualifying session where we can do as many laps as we like, which is great for the drivers and spectators.
If we get in an accident that's strong enough to break bones, it's going to break bones. What makes me a little bit higher risk is that if I break my right ankle again, I've got a bunch of screws and plates in there, and that would not be good.
I just was fortunate enough to be talented at what I was watching my brother do. It's great that it worked out that way; I might have been wasting a lot of time saying that's what I want to be, but when I got behind the wheel I had the ability.
For me, triathlons were something that was down to me and my fitness. Now, I really enjoy the pain in the triathlon of chasing someone down. It's a bit like chasing down Nico Rosberg in the last few laps at Silverstone - it makes you feel alive.
When there are challenges like there were up to and after Daytona in 2001, you remind yourself it will one day make sense why everything happens the way it does. You may not figure it out now on this earth, but in heaven, it will all make sense.
I want to enjoy myself and enjoy the challenge. I love to compete at the top level of NASCAR. I love my job. I love what I do. I'm very fortunate that God has given me the strength and the courage and the people around me to help me do what I do.
Fitness will be a major factor in the first race and I think that will play into the hands of drivers who have been racing recently, rather than people like me who haven't raced properly for a decade. I'am not one of the favourites to start with.
You've got to be able to take the highs and the lows, and certainly I am not very good at taking the lows. I'll be the first to admit it. But when the highs come your way you've got to treasure them because you never know how many more you'll get.
I think my reputation is pretty fair among the drivers. The drivers know what they get when they see me or talk to me - if they get the chance to talk to me, because some of them I just don't talk to because I don't like them, so they should know.
Well, when you think of Dale Earnhardt, you think of determination. You think of grit. Just a blue-collar, working-class guy that got out there and fought for the checkered flag and fought hard for it. And I got so much out of him. He inspired me.
I lean on a lot of drivers. I have a dirt racing background so I gravitate towards asking for advice from drivers who also dirt race, people like Clint Bowyer since dirt racers seem to have a similar driving style and like the car set up similarly.
I'm not going to just stop doing it because I got hurt once. People get hurt in car wrecks every day, and they don't stop driving the car the rest of their life to work. It's my passion. It's what I want to do with my life. It's a part of what I do.
We're in a good position with the Red Bull juniors. When I look around at what other schemes there are, Red Bull has invested a huge amount in youth and should be commended for giving these guys the opportunity that might otherwise have gone missing.
If the racing series does not exist for a year, then it disappears in its entirety. Teams that have been operating very close to the limit just wouldn't survive. They rely on racing to generate income and to fulfill their obligations to the promoter.
We're very clear in the race that priority will be given to the lead car and more risk will be taken with the tail car. Sometimes that will work out, sometimes it won't, but it's very clear going into the event that those are the rules of engagement.
My reputation is different among different groups. You have your fans, your non-fans, your team, your crew, your family, your friends and then you have your peers. I think they're all different and each of them have their separate opinions about you.
The obviously inexperienced pilot is the game the scientific air-fighter goes after, and the majority of victories are won that way. But, on the other hand, it is the novice usually who gets the famous ace by doing at some moment the unexpected thing.
When I look up and see the sun shining on the patch of white clouds up in the blue, I begin to think how it would feel to be up somewhere above it winging swiftly thought the clear air, watching the earth below, and the men on it, no bigger than ants.
I don't think that I'm the smartest guy around, so I'm better off to keep my mouth shut as much as I can rather than opening my mouth and proving to people that I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm more of a leader by example than I am a preacher.
There are guys you give the benefit of the doubt if they hold you up a little bit longer than normal, and you have that list of guys you kind of know are going to be a problem when you get there. The window of being patient with them is a lot shorter.
Everything we do needs to be geared toward making the sport [auto racing] more accessible to the fans - the rules of the sport, how the race plays itself out, how people qualify into the races - everything needs to be as easy to understand as possible.
It's real easy to sit on your couch and point fingers and say, 'So-and-so did something wrong...'. But until you are out there in these cars at these speeds and seeing all the near-misses and what is really going on, it is not worth forming an opinion.
I am proud to be part of the Toys for Tots program for a second year. In addition to giving kids the chance to design a special The UPS Store/Toys for Tots car, this contest is a great way for children to learn about the importance of charitable giving.
In our day, the driver probably had more input into the car. We didn't have power steering or fully automated gearboxes. We didn't have all the technical whizzes that are on the car now, so we actually controlled the car far more than the drivers today.
It's like, what if you get a set of tires that aren't balanced right or a driveshaft that's vibrating. That could create a problem. You try to think of every possible scenario of what can make you uncomfortable and try to come up with a solution for it.
Yeah, I'm the Brit who isn't Lewis Hamilton that woke up and realised he was good. I got that tag because I was young, flying around in jets and driving fast cars. I always took my driving seriously, but I suppose I enjoyed life... But I'm not a playboy.
We have fans who bake cookies for the team or they make cupcakes or muffins and stuff like that. And then they always ask us if we enjoyed it and how it tasted. I'm like, 'That was so long ago. I don't even remember what I had for breakfast this morning!'
The main thing is to be honest with yourself, know and recognize your limits and attain maximum achievement within them. I would for example get more satisfaction from climbing Snowdon, which I know I could, than from attempting Everest, which I couldn't.
People often ask me if I can justify the amount I earn, and I say I get paid that much because someone thinks it is worth their while to pay me that much, and if I they didn't they'd soon stop. That said, no one's more surprised at the money thing than me.
I was always fascinated by speed... My father was always an enthusiast and once I found a passion in racing, I had something in common with him, so from my childhood onwards we spent a lot of time going to karting tracks and racing in the various categories.
I wish Michael Schumacher would come try NASCAR. That'd be cool. With everything he's done and how professional he's remained through it all, I think he's an awesome role model as far as work ethic and tenacity. He just seems like he knows how to get it done.
You brake and then turn the wheel, step on the clutch, and pull the e-brake. Release the e-brake, go into countersteer mode, then wait. Wait until you know the car is facing the corner exit direction. then you smile and slam on the gas as you exit the corner.
That's what race fans love to see. That's what they bought this ticket for. That's what they're sitting in the grandstands rooting on their favorite driver for is to see him get out there, mix it up clean and bring it home just like we were, third and fourth.
I've spent as much as 30 grand on a watch but it's not about flaunting my wealth. I don't have many extravagances but watches are my biggest one. I must have 30 of them now. I've been collecting since the age of nine, when I won a black TAG in a karting event.
I got wrecked by a dirty driver. There's no other way of putting it. He's cool with that. I have raced him really cool over the last year to be respectful to him and try to repair our relationship. It is not going to last, I can tell you that. Now we’ve got war.
I've been to the combine a couple of times since I've graduated to see the talent coming through. It's about keeping tabs on who's coming up next. I tell them "You've got to deliver. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." You've got to be sure to succeed in it.
I have to relearn how to walk again. It's not that you have to reteach yourself. But your mind and your foot have to get back on the same page, and remind yourself that it's OK to do this. You've done this before. It's reminding it what it's supposed to do again.
And I'd get back to the cars being physical challenges to drive - to tame the beast. The cars we have at the moment are fantastic bits of engineering, but it's a little too comfortable, a little too easy. I think I'd go back to making the driver a bigger variable.
If you look at the record books, Dale Earnhardt's done everything, except win the Daytona 500. Now they can't have that riding over him. Now they're just going to say, 'Dale Earnhardt, 1998 Daytona 500 winner,' and his shoulders are going to get lighter every time.
I think fear is what keeps us from going over the edge. I mean, as a race car driver, I don't think what makes a good race car driver is a fearless person. I think it's somebody that is comfortable being behind the wheel of something that's somewhat out of control.
When I jumped ship from Roush Racing to Hendrick Motorsports, I couldn't believe the amount of personnel here that get along with each other. It's pretty amazing that there are so many people under one roof, where Roush is more spread out and it feels so different.
NASCAR does a good job of trying to keep things equal with new rules. We're not allowed to have computers in our cars to tell the crew what's going on. So the only thing you have is the driver, and the driver-crew chief relationship. That's the most important thing.
The start of my rookie season when there was so much pressure, so many expectations, and so much excitement surrounding the return of the No. 3 to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and then we went out and won the pole for the Daytona 500. That was a very special moment.
Once you get on to the racetrack on Sunday and you strap your helmet on and you come down especially toward the end of the race, it's every man for himself. It's me against the world. It's me against everybody else. Sometimes you're against your critics, as well, too.