I’m not superstitious, but here’s my new superstition
Friday was a pretty good day at Daytona International Speedway. I started early in the morning attending Darrell Gwynn’s charity fishing tournament. I caught six fish on Lake Lloyd, and that kind of set the tone for the rest of the day.
But before I get into our practice session, I have a story to tell about Darrell. He was a championship top fuel dragster driver on the National Hot Rod Association circuit. He suffered a spinal cord injury while doing exhibition runs in England in the early 1990s. Since his accident, he has been a strong advocate to find a cure for paralysis.
At the final race in Homestead last year, Darrell wanted me to have a lucky rabbit’s foot that had been with him for many years. I’m not much into superstition, but this felt different and I put the rabbit’s foot in my driver’s suit. After winning the race and the NASCAR Cup Series championship, the first person I saw as I entered the media center was Darrell. We gave each other a big shoutout, and people around us didn’t know what was happening.
I told Darrell that I am keeping the rabbit’s foot, and it’s now in my motor coach at the track. I am not sure what I will do with it Sunday. Perhaps I just need to keep it for the big ones or keep it in case we get to Homestead again as a final four team. I just don’t want to use it up. It’s been sitting on a shelf for more than 20 years gathering luck. It did work at Homestead, and right now I don’t want to push my luck.
Fishing and being with Darrell were not the only happenings Friday.
We took part in both practice sessions and felt we made some gains with our No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/5-hour Energy Toyota.
Our last run in the second practice was encouraging. However, we’re still not where we want to be, but we’re picking away at it and hopefully after Saturday’s final practice we’ll be ready with a tuneup that will allow us to contend for Sunday’s Daytona 500 title.
You are always looking for the one turn or one twist of a part to give you more balance and more speed. As a driver, I always want to be better, remain patient and have trust with our crew chief and crew.
Cole Pearn, our crew chief, and I have had a number of discussions this week. We not only get along as friends but also have a high regard for each other with our driver-crew chief relationship. He is probably the most competitive person that I have known.