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I don't understand why everybody can't remember how exciting the Daytona 500 has been over the years when Richard Petty and David Pearson and Darrell Waltrip ran just the three of them racing for the win. Why do you have to have 40 cars in a pack to say it's exciting?
I want to continue to be a part of the sport, and not just as an owner in the Nascar Xfinity Series. I want to be a valuable asset to the growth of the sport and continue to help raise the bar and raise the awareness of the sport and promote the sport as much as I can.
I didn't think I was ever going to be a Cup driver. When I was a kid, before I started racing in the Xfinity Series, I thought that I was never going to get a chance, and then, if I did, I wasn't going to run well enough to maintain that opportunity and keep progressing.
Obviously you can look at things however you choose to and I'm not proud of some people in sports, but I don't really look at it as my calling to be out there setting an example. I just try to treat people the way the I want to be treated - with respect and some dignity.
The Showdown is a great way to bring attention to these historic Virginia tracks where many NASCAR drivers cut their teeth in stock car racing, including myself. Tracks like South Boston and Langley are the heart of the sport and draw a great crowd to our Showdown events.
A lot of people think Formula One isn't a sport because everyone drives a car when they go to work in the morning. But we're pulling up to six G on a corner or during breaking, which is almost like being a fighter pilot. So we have to do a lot of work on our neck muscles.
Some people tell you, 'I'm your good luck charm - I've been to eight races in my life and you've won six of them' or something like that. So it's kind of like, 'Well, you need to come to more then!' Other times, fans just want to talk about previous times they've met you.
I love running good because it meets expectations, whether it's the fans' or my own. And I know that they come to be entertained: they pull for a particular driver to be entertained by that driver's success and that driver's personality, and they relate to that individual.
A Hamilton-Vettel combination, on paper, would look very attractive to any team. However, what you have to look at is the dynamics of any partnership like that and it's difficult to see how two sportsmen at the absolute top of their game could work in harmony under one roof.
If someone was making a movie about F1 in the last six months, they wouldn't need to add a Hollywood ending. If they do make that movie, it's got to be 'The Curious Case Of ,' where I've lived my life backwards. I'd like Johnny Depp to play me but he wouldn't be quite right.
There's a Bible verse that says if you believe, you will be in the presence of the Lord in the blink of an eye. And I know Dale was a believer, and that means that he saw his son and his friend going to win the Daytona 500, and he was in heaven all within the blink of an eye.
There's steps that I've taken already, and each week, talking with the sports psychologist on a routine basis and working with the different programs that we're going through. This is all stuff that you can say you're going to make a difference, but I'm putting it into action.
Throughout your career, whether you're getting into the sport or have been it in for a number of years like me, there will always be obstacles. The important thing is how you deal with those obstacles and come back from any disappointment or setback, no matter how big or small.
When someone tells me they've never been to a race, I tell them that the first one they should go to is Bristol, Tennesee. The shape of the track, the energy, and excitement under the lights is similar to what you might get at a stick-and-ball game in college football or the NFL.
All my life I've been that way - ever since I was a kid. It doesn't matter whether we played video games or even before that when we had board games when you played with your sister and mom and dad - I didn't like losing then and didn't want to do anything but win when we played.
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 just don't think human beings are designed to have that big of a swing of emotions. I mean, I'm standing in Victory Lane literally seconds after Dale Earnhardt died. Dale Earnhardt was not only my car owner that day, my first victory in 463 tries, but he was my dear friend, too.
If you look up the definition of stand-up comedy, it's funny on purpose. A little bit of pressure there. It's basically acting. You're telling stories and acting them out for people. The more you make it seem real, really a person doing it, then it seems to me the better it works.
I always make things worse than they are or create problems that aren't there. And going and doing some simple task becomes a problem. I start imagining problems that aren't there. What people are going to think, who's going to judge me and am I going to be good enough? Am I worthy?
It doesn't matter what you do, if you love what you do, then you don't sweat the little things. You just don't pay attention to them. Then when the big things come along, they're never as big as what they seem to somebody who doesn't have a passion for it and doesn't really love it.
Well, my favorite memory of a president was in 1984. I was in the grandstands at Daytona, and maybe I was 20 years old. So just sort of down in Daytona, having a good time for the 500 - or for the 400 in July. And Air Force One lands on the back straightaway. It was President Reagan.
Unlike the fast-paced world of racing, there is nothing rushed about growing grapes. They take their time lazily basking in the summer sun, and come fall, as I watch them impatiently, waiting for that perfect balance needed to harvest, I swear they call out to me, 'What's the hurry?'
Ayrton and I shared a lot of incredible races, where he was first and I was second and vice-versa. I think it's fair to say I am the only racer in Grand Prix history who wasn't intimidated by him, and I think that was great for the fans - it did make us have a few close calls, though!
Balance, or drivability, and the ability to accelerate while cornering are more important than maximum cornering power - every time. Until you reach teh top levels of professional motor racing you will achieve more results by optimizing the package that you have than by redesigning it.
I saw the wreck on TV in the hauler when I was getting dressed to leave. I thought, 'Oh, he'll be fine.' It didn't look like that type of an accident. I remember walking to the bus lot, seeing Teresa walk by. She definitely had a look on her face that I had not seen on her face before.
If the roles were reversed, I would be saying the same thing. As a competitor, you're tired of the same guy winning. I guess I understand where they're coming from and what they're saying ... I don't necessarily agree with it. I think it would be great for someone to win five straight.
Obsessive devotion to creating can spark that which is called 'genius.' Smarter or more gifted? The 'madness' is the insatiable drive to discover, achieve and create. Monomania can develop into 'genius,' as the individual delves deeper into the process leaving normal parameters behind.
I mean, when I was growing up, my family was always into racing. So, we'd always have the TV on on Sundays watching the Cup races or whatever, and ultimately I kinda thought about wanting to become a race car driver. I thought it would be cool to get paid to do what you love to do most.
If somebody tells me, 'You have to pass that car right there,' I guarantee you I'm going to step up the aggressiveness to a whole other level and that may mean beating and banging. But until it calls for that moment, I'm not expecting to go out there and just beat and bang for no reason.
If someone was making a movie about F1 in the last six months, they wouldn't need to add a Hollywood ending. If they do make that movie, it's got to be 'The Curious Case Of Jenson Button,' where I've lived my life backwards. I'd like Johnny Depp to play me but he wouldn't be quite right.
When I was racing, I had learned that you can't set stock in public adoration or your press clippings. By the time I was 26, I'd heard crowds of 100,000 scream my name, but a week later they couldn't remember who I was. You're a hero today and a bum tomorrow - hero to zero, I sometimes say.
There's one part of the forest in Wales, it's like a natural bowl, and when we drove into it last time, it was getting dark. And as you came over the hill you could see fireworks being set off, the whole place was lit up and you could see this huge crowd all jumping up and down and cheering.
Red Bull have always been very good at nurturing young talent - Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo are products of that - and it is important with Asian talent that people keep investing in it. There's a massive pool of people, for sure, and the next Sebastian Vettel is out there somewhere.
I am proud of the Earnhardt name, but it don't stand alone. You know, it's part of the sport, with all those other historic people that have been a part of it, and you don't want people to forget the part you had in it and what you did and the contributions you made and the sacrifices you made.
My school reports always used to point out that my concentration levels were appalling. I never listened in class because I was always daydreaming about racing. I never thought for a moment about doing anything else. There was no guarantee that I'd make a career in it but I never had any plan B.
The cap is a discussion about competitiveness, not about money. It's about trying to bring the top teams down to a level where the midfield teams feel they can compete. The reality is that whatever the level of spend there will always be teams that run at the front and teams that run at the back.
I think we're our biggest competition. I think the racetrack's the biggest competition. If we go and race the racetrack and try to go around the racetrack faster than our competition, then that's the goal. I look at it as a competition between us and the racetrack because it's all about lap time.
When I was in Japan with my girlfriend Jessica, she would have had acupuncture every day if she could. I can just about stomach going to a chiropractor and I visited a talented one when I was there, but when he tried a needle on me, it was horrible. My muscles tightened and it didn't work at all.
The only time I think about life beyond F1 is when I contemplate becoming a dad. But there's no way that's going to happen while I'm still racing. To be successful in F1 you need to be very selfish in lots of ways and you're away from home for long periods. That's not the kind of father I want to be.
I like running my Super Late Models here and there and there are times when you go to those events and they are for $2,000 or $3,000 to win. There's no money involved in that; you're basically spending your money to go racing in those things but it's so enjoyable. For me, it's kind of like a golf game.
I think one thing Liberty finds frustrating is a lot of this business is conducted through the media. That's something they're not used to with American sport. There's that constant comparison of America sport and franchises verses Formula One - American sport works in America, it doesn't work globally.
Whether you're Michael Waltrip or Jeff Gordon or Richard Petty, you can't be the Daytona 500 champion without it having an impact on people around you. When I say that, I mean the race fans. They want to congratulate you for winning the biggest race of the year. It has changed people's perception of me.
When you have a concussion, one of the symptoms that is common is anxiety. Imagine having the normal amount of anxieties that everybody shares - about life and meeting people in social spaces, whatever. Imagine that being multiplied by 10, 20. And so your worry over people's perceptions of you multiplies.
I can assure you that most of the drivers have a lot of things they'd like to do, but racing keeps them from doing that. We're so restricted because of our long season. We have a one-and-a-half-month period where we get to do what we want - that's shorter than any other sport. It makes it tough, for sure.
The car (FT86) is not only FUN to drive, but in terms of quality and precision of handling, the car has very much surpassed any expectations I had. More easily put, if you had blind folded me and told me this was a new creation by BMW's M department, I would not even hesitate to believe you. It's that good.
I've dealt with some tragedy in my life, like losing my brother. That was probably one of the hardest days when I've been tested. But you learn what things are important. You have to prioritize your life with your family, your friends, things you want to accomplish. You've got to get all that stuff in order.
Everybody is different. You're always going to have disagreements with other drivers, unless you're not competitive and you never run good. I deal with everybody differently. Most guys, I have a lot of respect for and I'd like to keep it that way. So I try to communicate with them and find some common ground.
I may think I am ready to go out there and run a Busch race tomorrow, but the reality is I have to wait, because if you go out there and stink up the show, your credibility is shot. You work so hard to get your chance, and if you blow it when everyone is watching, that's it. And it's just not worth the setback.
I think as a 20-year-old you expect life to always be easy. You get given a good hand and the chance to race in Formula One. You think the driver can make the difference, can make up for everything else within the team. But that is not the case. You are racing in such a competitive sport so that doesn't happen.
If there were no belief in god, if such a truth were ever realized, then their would be no fear of consequence. Stop for a moment and imagine what this world would be like without consequence and fear. Imagine what we could, what we would do. I dare not think of such a nightmare for it could only be born in pain.