(Continued)

Q As a racer, how is it to be spectating here at Daytona?

A It's cool to come to Daytona, just because I've been coming here for a long time. We used to come down here and race little flat track races, and we would stay and watch, go to the Speedway one day. So it's cool to come here for sure. I just love the people here, the atmosphere, all the bikes.

But (I) see guys going out for qualifying, and it's weird. I was telling somebody the other day I haven't raced since, well, Del Mar was the last, but, I ran a local short track a month or two ago, but a real pro race where you really had that feeling.It's been a while.

I'm kind of like a fan, you know. I haven't raced in a while. I need a little fix or something. But I know in a few weeks I'll get mine. So it's really that bad. But for sure, I see guys out there in 600 qualifying, everybody hooking up, and I just get that feeling like I should be there.

I'm pretty excited about what I've got ahead, so I'm not really looking back, but of course a racer comes to race.

Last night was fun. We drove down Main Street, some buddies and stuff, my sister. It'd been a while since, on a Friday or Saturday night that I've drove down there.

Q It's a spectacle, isn't it?

A I kind of forgot how wild those boys get down there. They were going off last night. Burn-outs in the middle of the street. Chicks. It was a pretty good sight to see.

Q Somebody could say that your family's been as instrumental in your racing career as your talent and experience. You won't have them this season for the first time. Big deal or not?

A Times just move on, I guess, and you learn to do it different. I mean, it's different, but it's something that I try not to think about it. It's like complaining about the weather: it's not going to really do you any good. That's kind of how I look at it.

My family's been unreal, I couldn't ask for any better people.

Normally, like, a test at Laguna, me and Rog' and Tommy would all be there together. My brothers were at the track after testing, always, you'd go to dinner with them or something, normally.We'd just be talking about the track, and the bikes and stuff.We always have a lot of fun, going to breakfast or dinner and just being kids, goofing off. So that's been different.

Q Before it all gets re-written by the GP scribes, when was the first time you rode a motorcycle? When was the first time you raced a motorcycle?

A I hardly even remember. Like, three years old, pretty much. I think my brother must've got a new bike or something, and I just got his old one. Just rode in the backyard, like every other kid. And honestly, I don't even remember my first race. I was that young I don't even know.

Q There's a picture of you standing next to a Yamaha PW50. Is that the first bike that you rode?

A Yeah.

Q And you were dirt tracking at age 5?

A Oh, yeah, for sure I was racing by 5. They had the little local series there in Kentucky.

Q How has your curve in racing been? Was there ever a period when you didn't love racing? A lot of riders who start early start to not like it after a while.

A No. Not at all.

The one thing my parents did when we were kids is that we always had other things to do besides racing and motorcycles. They made sure of that so help fight burn out, I guess.

I can say I love racing now just as much as I did when I was 12. I look forward to getting up and going racing and doing it as much now, honestly, if not more.

As a kid, I played some other sports, and it was kind of cool, but I never got that feeling like that's what I wanted to do. This is it, racing, this is what I want to do.

More later