I woke up this morning, and I still don't believe I won the Daytona 500.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I was quite excited, but I was sure I wouldn't win the race. I am a realist.
I race to win, not to please people.
I lost races because I wanted too much to win them in beating my rivals.
I was the kid who never won the races... I wasn't on the list of the high-achieving.
The mistake I really learned from was in 2005, leading the Indianapolis 500. I had a decision whether or not to save enough fuel to finish the race - which meant slowing down - or going all-out for the win. I went conservative and saved enough fuel to go to the end but finished fourth.
I never felt that I didn't have a chance to win.
For myself, losing is not coming second. It's getting out of the water knowing you could have done better. For myself, I have won every race I've been in.
I know I'll never feel that sensation of racing and winning again and that took a while to get used to. The Tour was a race I never thought I could lose.
I have never won a race, and that is my main disappointment - but you have to be positive.
When I woke up Sunday morning at the Open and stepped outside and felt the wind and rain in my face, I knew I had an excellent chance to win if I just took my time and trusted myself.