Things changed a lot last season after I recovered from my injuries from the crash at Fontana. I keep a videotape of that crash and pictures of the crashed car. They're like a testament to a turning point in my career. While I was hurt, I didn't understand how my concussion could impact everyone around me. It wasn't that I suddenly became a better driver after I healed, but I began to understand how I needed to be more of a leader for the team, and even Dale Earnhardt Inc. as a whole. I looked to Tony Eury Sr. as the guy who was our leader, but I finally began to understand the role I had as the driver. Believe me, Tony is still the boss, but I understand that I have a role there, too.
I have to lead by example. My mood or my attitude can have a huge impact on the team. If I am mad or upset about something, that bad attitude infects all of the people around me. So, now I am making a conscious effort to stay positive and keep all of us looking at the big picture: winning a championship.
We really began to make gains last year, probably from early August until the end of the season. We scored more points in the last three months of last season than any other team except Tony Stewart and his boys, who won the title. If you combine the last three months of 2002 with the first four months of this season, we're the team that has scored more points than any other.
The Right ApproachOne of the biggest changes we made last year was to improve our communication on and off the track. It used to be a big huddle where we'd all talk in the garage-everyone all at once. Everyone had their opinions, most of them were good, but it would cause us to lose focus.
Now, I talk directly with Tony Jr. about the car during practice and on the radio during the races. He and I talk about what the car is or isn't doing, and then he goes to his dad and the guys on the team to work on making the car better. We also decided that Tony Jr. would give up his spot as the front tire changer on the pit stops. He likes to brag about how fast he was as an over-the-wall guy, but now he can sit on that comfortable seat on top of the pit wagon, and he can concentrate on talking with me and making the correct changes to the car during the race. It means he no longer has five different jobs on race day, and he's been making much better decisions ever since.
Am I happy with our season so far? Yes. Am I satisfied? No.
No matter how the season ends, there are always going to be "what if..." moments. At this point in the year, the Daytona 500 is still something that bothers me and bothers the team. We felt like we had that race in the palm of our hand, and for something as simple as an alternator to fail, it still gnaws at us. I am so happy for Michael and his team-it was great that a DEI car won the Daytona 500, but I still believe we would have come back and won that race if it hadn't ended early. That one stands out-and there will be more through the season, I'm sure. I've made some mistakes, and the team has made some mistakes on pit lane, but the difference is that we've stuck together, we've never given up, and we have been able to recover.