I`m a race car driver, and I`m a very competitive one.

It`s difficult to lose a guy like Dario, not only because he`s a great driver but because he`s a good friend, too. We`re going to miss him. But the series made great strides over the past couple of years and this year in particular. I was asked in Detroit why I wasn`t the big story after my best finish, and that`s awesome. It`s about having many story lines, and I think the league is developing that.

Everybody loves to cheer for the under dog, and I definitely am, I`m a rookie.

I drive pretty fast even on the highway in my Lamborghini. I don`t like to drive at enormous top speed, but I do like to drive a little bit faster than everyone else. So if everybody on the highway is doing 80, I`ll do 82 or something, and if people are driving 60, I`ll want to do 62. I think there`s something in my blood, in my instincts, that makes me want to overtake. (Newsweek, Sept. 25, 2006)