McGee has been pleased with the No. 31 team's progress.

Circumstances are better for the Lowe's team now than they were in 2000. We lost some of our focus last year due to uncontrollable circumstances. In the middle of the season, Larry McReynolds told us he would be leaving at the end of the year for the TV broadcast booth, so I was given more responsibilities. Mike Skinner was in the process of getting married, setting up a new home and building a new airplane hangar. All those issues needed to be taken care of, but they were a distraction to Mike and the whole crew. There was also a bit of confusion about our status with Lowe's near the end of the season. Now, all that is worked out and we're certain it's behind us. Racing is again the foremost thing in everyone's mind.

We started the 2001 season by setting attainable goals for ourselves. Last year and the year before, all we could think about was winning that first NASCAR Winston Cup Series points race. I think that became an obstacle to our performance because we were so focused on the ultimate goal that we lost sight of how to get there.

This year the number one goal for the No. 31 Lowe's team is consistency. If we can be consistent every week, that first win will come. Our qualifying effort is usually strong but we need to concentrate on racing more consistently on Sunday.

Our average race finish also needs to improve. If we don't have a top-10 car on the track, we want to make sure we finish the best we can. We can't put ourselves in a position where we end up making a mistake on pit road or on the track and finish 30th instead of 14th.

You really hurt yourself in the points race if you mess up by trying to run a car harder than it will go. You end up with a worse finish and your average finish drops even further. If a top-15 finish is the best we can do that day, we'll just buckle down and try to sit on the pole and win the next weekend.

If we position ourselves to be consistent and competitive every week -- day in and out -- the chance of winning is going to be there. Whether it means taking an opportunity in front of us on the track, making a crucial call on pit road, or simply being in position to capitalize on another team's misfortune, we've got to be able to take advantage of the hand we're dealt.

Being consistent is the first step to that. If Skinner leads the most laps one week and finishes fifth, then goes out the next week and finishes 35th, the Lowe's team won't be viewed as a contender week in and week out. I'd like the No. 31 team to be strong and competitive all the time -- not just part of the time or in qualifying. When we roll out onto the starting grid on Sundays, qualified in the top-five, I want the other teams to expect the Lowe's Chevy to be racing them for the win with 20 laps to go.

That type of competitiveness and dominance only comes with time, hard work and on-track practice. We spent some time testing in January, which gave us a chance to really see how things are meshing for us. That's important because this is my first year as a crew chief and everyone needs time to adjust to the changes.

We tested at Daytona in mid-January for the Daytona 500 and also went to Talladega and Las Vegas. We felt really good about the Daytona test. The Lowe's hauler rolled in there Thursday morning and we unloaded our stuff and got to work. Mike really liked the way the new car drove the first couple of runs. We also tested the car that we finished second with at Talladega last April as a baseline, and we feel like we improved on what we had in that race. This Lowe's team is pretty confident about going to Daytona and Mike feels comfortable with what we've built for him.

Not only has the offseason been a busy time of work and preparation, it's also been a bit of an adjustment period for me. My biggest priorities in my new role are managing my time, making sure all tasks are complete at the end of the day, putting out little fires here and there, and getting everything ready for the track Friday. A lot of that is new to me, because although I had certain responsibilities before, I now have to look over everything and make sure everyone else is doing what they're supposed to be doing. I'm also trying to concentrate on coordinating with everyone at RCR, staying up to speed on what the engineering department is doing, as well as what the engine and fabrication shops are doing.

I may eat these words later, but I'll be glad to get back to the track. It's nice being at the shop and having the chance to spend time with my family in the offseason but it seems like when you're at the shop there's always a new problem to address. But at the track we're focused solely on our race car. That situation comes more naturally to me than managing everything in the shop. Trying to make that Lowe's Chevy the best it can be at the track each day is what I'm really comfortable with. That's what I'm used to and I'll be glad to get back to it this week.