NASCAR Winston Cup Teleconference Moments

BRENDAN GAUGHAN

No. 62 Orleans Racing Dodge Ram

Photo courtesy of Orleans Racing.

"I believe in the mental strength."

Zoomster questions from Debbie:

"Do I have a mental routine? Debbie, you haven't seen me at a race then have you? I'm probably one of the biggest goofballs you've probably ever met. I grew up in Las Vegas and I'm having fun. Whether it's playing other sports or working in the casino or racing the car, I'm not very superstitious and I don't have the whole, 'OK, give me 20 minutes to do this, this and this.' I don't have any routine. I go out there and give my mom or my dad a kiss. My mom doesn't tell me to be careful anymore. She just tells me to have fun. My dad just sits there and says you can't do any of this without me, and I say thanks dad. I walk across the stage, and with any luck you're picking up some sort of check from the week before. You jump in your car. Marty Moore, who's been with me since I was 16 or 17 years old is the guy who puts me in the seat, Marty gives me a hug. I give him a high five and we jump in and go. I really don't have a routine."

"I can't answer for most drivers because I'm very different than most people. If you can call me a good driver, the only thing that's in me is a lot of athletic background. I played basketball for John Thompson. I played football at Georgetown. I come with a really big athletic mentally. I believe in the physical condition of the driver, and I believe in the mental strength of what I do. I go to Kansas City where people are being taken out of their trucks after the race because of the heat. I didn't have any water in my car. I didn't have any air blowing on me, and I wasn't tired. I wasn't sweating. I jumped out of the truck ready to do another hundred laps. Those are the things that give me what I feel is a mental edge over people. I have a competitive drive that anybody can have. Anybody that's played football or basketball in college or even high school they've really given their hearts to play the sport and they know about that competitive drive."