Dan Wheldon Last Quotations

I had a Sonoma race where I was disappointed in the result, ... I wanted to make amends for that. That was the longest period of time I've ever had between races. From the last race of the year to the first race of the next season is a long time. It felt a lot longer than that.

Last year, and I'm praising Honda here at the expense of Andretti Green Racing, we perhaps didn't work as hard on the car as we perhaps needed to, because we had the traction control. Now, everybody's got the same, so you've got to make sure your car is very good.

We push each other hard, ... We never give an inch. For instance, at the open test at Phoenix International Raceway last winter, I set a fast time and then Dario, Tony and Bryan all went out to better it and did. We always work on improvement and, as competitive as we've been, the friendships between us make it all work.

The one thing I've learned about this league is don't get excited too soon, ... It's going to be a difficult race. My teammates are going to push me really hard. Last year, I struggled a little bit on the short ovals. The boys have been a big help to me. It's nice to have your first pole. I'm still a rookie until Japan so I have a lot to learn.

I get bored. We seem to have been having a little bit more time off this winter than last winter. I'm always itching to get back in the car. It's going to get harder, so I've got to make sure that I'm doing everything I possibly can do to make sure I can start next season how I ended this season.