I have always tried to drive a car that was better than me, and race against people who were better than me. If you are surrounded by people who are as good as you, or not as good, how are you going to learn?

I’m really proud of my team. They have given me great cars all year long. Today, we finally got to show what kind of cars they have been giving me. We were up front, leading laps and showing how good this No. 22 Ford is. Once again today, my team showed they have my back and that will only make us better going forward.

Once the tires start to wear out the better car will prevail eventually. It might take a little bit of time, but eventually it will be the best. That’s why everyone is trying to make their car good on the long run.

I wash my cars and clean the garage a lot. That's kind of my thing.

Some of the fans look at me as a villain or not a nice guy for some reason. I don't feel like that's the case, personally.

When I was three years old, I had race-car wallpaper, a race-car bed, race-car toys. That was all I wanted. And nothing has changed. Except I don't have a race-car bed anymore.?

It's funny how the whole team gets quiet when you're about to win a Daytona 500.

I have to win races. It's not even an option.

I don't worry about anything but winning races.

I enjoy doing autograph sessions because I'm a people-watcher. I'm the guy in the airport who likes to just sit and watch people go by. So I enjoy just meeting people and hearing their stories.

You don't go to a race track to finish second.

When you cross the line and you've won the race, to me, it's an amazing feeling.

There's always room for improvement.

Some fans understand who I am and why I do things, and then there are some fans that have formed an opinion that I don't feel is who I am.

I believe 0% is luck. I think you create your own luck, so I don't believe in luck.

Obviously, the opinions that are most accurate are the ones that are closest to you - your crew, your friends, your family. Those people know who you are, and that's accurate.