When Jimmie Johnson goes out early and finishes 35th, as he did Sunday, he can look at the cameras, lament about it being a tough day, and then say, 'We'll just try to get them next week at Darlington.'

The Daytona 500 is a big race, and Darlington is just as big of an event, and a lot of people get excited for it.

This is like my dad's race team where we had one Legend car. If we wrecked it, we couldn't race the next week unless we had enough parts to put it back together again.

Just a ton of excitement, and the way the guys are together on this, they're looking at me to grow and to learn, and I'm looking at them to grow and to learn.

That's what race fans love to see. That's what they bought this ticket for. That's what they're sitting in the grandstands rooting on their favorite driver for is to see him get out there, mix it up clean and bring it home just like we were, third and fourth.

Newman and I were friends. We were great teammates, and he needs to check his trophy case on that Daytona 500 trophy I helped him get years ago.