Driving for Richard Childress Racing is, obviously, the best gig I've ever had in NASCAR Winston Cup racing. Being ready in November to race in February gives us a lot of time to work together and get used to each other.
Working together in 2001, especially getting the win at New Hampshire at the end of the season, also gave us a tremendous head start going into 2002. So I think the 2002 season is going to be a lot of fun and we're going to capitalize on the success we ended last season with
I think we will have to work as a complete team program if it is going to be successful. As competitive as Winston Cup racing is today, if Kevin Harvick, Jeff Green and I don't work together, we won't be able to get the most out of the program.
I think Todd Berrier coming over from Kevin's Busch Series, championship-winning team to be Jeff's crew chief, and my crew chief, Gil Martin, having already worked together, will be a big plus. This year adding Kevin Hamlin to the mix will only make things that much better. We can all have some great things happen in 2002.
I'm looking forward to competing in a full season in 2002. I've competed in 61 NASCAR Winston Cup races but they've been spread out over a decade. That's only an average of six races per year so I haven't really gotten comfortable yet in the series. It also will be a great advantage going into 2002 coming off the victory at New Hampshire last season.
I've made the decision that this is where I want to build my Winston Cup racing career so I'm going to do everything I can to make sure I take advantage of everything I can to make sure it happens.
I think it's also going to be good having teammates like Kevin and Jeff. They've both had a great deal of success in NASCAR so I hope to learn from them. I've had success in other formulas, and part of the reason I have is that I've either had a good teammate or somebody like A.J. Foyt to compare notes with. I haven't had much of that during my Winston Cup career.
I'm a racer. I come to race and I come to win. I would be lying if I said I would be happy running in the Top 10. I expect to win next year with the talent and knowledge this team possesses. I know that everyone at Richard Childress Racing and Cingular Wireless will do everything they can to make sure I have the tools I need to win races.
Where things may not have worked out in my Winston Cup career at some of the other places I've been, I think it will at Richard Childress Racing.
I've always had a lot of respect for car owners I've driven for who have been successful, like A.J. Foyt, and I have a great deal of respect for Richard Childress. He's won races and numerous championships in every NASCAR series he's raced in. I think he can teach me a lot, and I can learn a lot from him and the people he has working for him.
I'm just proud that Richard believed in me. He point-blank asked me if I could win on an oval. I told him we could win if we can get the car to where I can live with the balance. My road course driving showed him that I could do that. I think we showed a lot of people that we can get to Victory Lane with a Winston Cup car.
We've been in the position to win. We were snake-bit for a while. There were many times I should have pulled a Winston Cup car into Victory Lane last year, like at Sears Point. At Watkins Glen, we were by far the strongest car there. To finally get it in 2001 and to build for next year will make us a lot stronger when we roll out at Daytona.