Often I get asked by fans and/or those who want be a part of motorsports, “What tips do you have to be a successful racer?”

In my early days as a @Nascar driver, my first response would have been- “loose is fast” or “downforce is king, learn to understand aerodynamics”

However, Someone asked me a few weeks ago and I took a pause and reflected on the last 10 years of experience. It didn’t take me long to realize that those answers weren’t very deep and aren’t how I feel today.

After 10 years of ups and downs, trophies & heartaches, with a few 3 day rainouts, 4am testing wake up calls, jubilant practice sessions where we found .05 on the stop watch at the very end & yes ENDLESS MEDIA days sprinkled inbetween; its became clearer what the real answer is.

The real answer on how to be successful in racing is no different than in any other place in life-

Learn to love the grind

This is and will be My advice to anyone out there who asks me how to be successful.

Find your motivation (be prepared for it to age and out and need to be replaced along the way) and leverage it everyday till you love the grind so much you can’t feel pain.

Learn to love the grind with the stubbornness of a mule. Love it so much that you wake up early and can’t sleep. Love the grind so much, you can’t fall asleep till late at night.

Because everyday, without fail, your competition is waking up and trying to get better too...

I’m writing this today because Last night I could not sleep and this morning I woke up super early and hungry. It became crystal clear in my mind how great a chance my team has at winning the 2020 championship.

The anticipation I feel for the next 10 days rivals that of Christmas Eve as a kid. 3 big trophies are right in front of us and I know my team can do it.

To win it all in 2020 will take guts, preparation and yes, a love for the grind.

And for those that are wondering-

I still love the grind.