COULD YOU HAVE PLANNED A MORE PERFECT WEEKEND?“No. It’s so surreal. In the offseason my wife said to me I believe you’re going to beat Mario’s record and you’re going to win the championship. It actually gave me confidence that I could do it. That’s how much confidence I have in her gut feel. I just couldn’t believe that they came true.”
YOU PLAYED THE LONG GAME BY STAYING CALM. WHAT WERE YOU THIKING WHEN YOU SAW JOSEF NEWGARDEN GO PAST YOU?“I just knew I had to get the most out of those stints and not lose any more positions. I had to drive the thing today. It was on the edge, very loose. What a relief to get that done. I can’t thank Verizon enough. They’ve been with me for close to 12 years now and without them I would never have had this career and obviously Roger Penske and the whole team and Chevrolet.”
HOW MUCH OF YOUR OFFSEASON MENTAL ADJUSTMENT HAS LED TO THIS MOMENT?“From the beginning it was just playing the long game, not necessarily going for the big wins and all that. As I’ve gotten older, I have a lot more gratitude for my life and what I get to do. Not everyone gets to do this and I’m lucky and I appreciate it a lot.”
HOW MUCH DID YOU RELY ON EXPERIENCE THIS WEEKEND?“That’s exactly it; you’ve accumulated so much experience, you understand how races go and you understand that you can never give up no matter what it seems like, so you just keep digging and it just kept unfolding. A solid day.” |
