My biggest concern during a race is getting bored. The biggest thing I have to combat is falling asleep while going around and around.

I lived the true American dream, because I was able to pursue what I set as my goals at a very young age.

I go to bed is around 11, and I do that for every race. I get good sleep. I don't lie awake for any race. That's my routine.

The crashes people remember, but drivers remember the near misses.

I will always enter a race car from the left side. Always. Why? I have no idea.

But really - look at the span of my career, and it's something people dream about. And to be spared major injury: I had some moments along the way, but being able to retire on my own terms after having driven during those decades when safety conditions were more precarious than today - am I lucky, or  what?

When a car's ahead of you, as long as you can see it, you get a tow, just like the draft in NASCAR. Even if it's a long ways down the track, it punches a hole in the air that has to help. When you're running alone, you can feel the difference, and it shows on the clock, too.