Second place is just the first place loser.
— Dale Earnhardt
When he was young, I told Dale Jr. that hunting and racing are a lot alike. Holding that steering wheel and holding that rifle both mean you better be responsible.
The thing about it is, all those races we lost, we won this race together. We won it as a team.
That strategy of racing for the top five and racing for the win is where everybody wants to be.
Maybe now that we have the same sponsor in Remington we can spend some time together outdoors.
If we're going to run for points we need to run in the top-five every week.
I've got to win every race.
I started 20 years without missing a race and ESPN started broadcasting on the air waves.
Growing up, I've enjoyed hunting with my father.
As a GM Goodwrench Service Plus dealer, I understand how good service makes a difference to our customers.
You've got to be closer to the edge than ever to win. That means sometimes you go over the edge, and I don't mean driving, either.
Two of my favorite things are my steering wheel and my Remington rifle.
The atmosphere seems to change once the sun goes down and the race fans get to watch a good show.
Richard Childress and myself have made some important innovations on our cars.
It's just really hard to work and get better, building and planning for the future with the new Monte Carlo and keeping the race team intact and keeping them healthy.
If I was 30th in points and not making races and not being competitive in races, I could understand them saying I'm over-the-hill or I'm ready to quit or whatever.
I woke up this morning, and I still don't believe I won the Daytona 500.
I enjoy Saturday night racing.
Finishing races is important, but racing is more important.
You win some, lose some, and wreck some.
With 20 top-10 finishes, I feel we're on the right path.
To come in and win three races already this year and maybe set a record by winning four is pretty unique. But guys like Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace and these guys are not wanting that to happen.
That's what we're striving for, making us a contender in every race.
People are going to get older and young guys are going to come in and race and get more competitive.
It's a never ending battle of making your cars better and also trying to be better yourself.
I've had confidence in myself all along. It was just a matter of getting the pieces back in place.
I want to be up front racing.
I don't want to argue with my wife about her car - or my driving.
But I'm good to go through my contract with Childress, and my determination is to win races and try to win that other championship.
You can't let one bad moment spoil a bunch of good ones.
