DRO: SO WHAT BROUGHT YOU BACK?

AS: One day I woke up and (thought), "You're so stupid. What are you thinking? I was No. 2 in the world. Only one guy beat you." I realized I was acting ridiculous. I was about to pass up the opportunity of a lifetime to get back on that bike and try it again. What I had forgotten was how to have fun. I had put too much pressure on myself and thought that if I didn't win the championship that I was a nobody, that I was a loser. There was everybody behind me that I was ahead of, and I couldn't see that. So going through the '99 season was exactly what I needed to win the championship, because I had forgotten all the basics.

DRO: WHAT'S YOUR REACTION TO WINSTON'S DEPARTURE FROM DRAG-RACING SPONSORSHIP NOT ONLY OF THE SERIES BUT YOUR BIKE AND GARY SCELZI'S DRAGSTER?

AS: I'm definitely not upset. They've given me three of the best years of my life. I can really wait another five years to have a kid, so that's not going to take me out anytime soon.

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