NASCAR Teleconference Transcript - Martin Truex Jr. Pr
June 1, 2010
An interview with:
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.
DENISE MALOOF:
Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to this week's NASCAR
teleconference in advance of the weekend's events at Pocono Raceway.
Joining us today is Martin Truex, Jr., who is the driver of the No. 56
NAPA Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing. He's 14th in the NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series standings, only 14 points out of 12th place in the Chase for
the Sprint Cup Series eligibility.
Martin, welcome.
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.:
Thank you.
DENISE MALOOF:
That's pretty much the focus now, everybody is going full
bore towards that Chase eligibility.
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.:
Absolutely. I think it's something that you pay
attention to all year long right from the start of the Daytona 500. You
just do all you can each week to get those points and you really pay
attention to that.
I think the focus of every team every year is just to make the Chase.
Hopefully when that time comes around, you'll have something to go out
and race for a championship.
Nothing different for our team with our NAPA Toyota. We have a great
team. We've been running with some momentum here lately. We're excited
to go to Pocono this weekend and try to get back in the top 12.
DENISE MALOOF:
We'll go straight to media questions for Martin Truex,
Jr.
Q:
Have you paid attention to what's happened with Carl Edwards' team?
He led the series with nine wins a couple years ago. He's not even
scratching for top fives right now. When you see that happen, what goes
through your mind?
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.:
Well, I mean, I don't know. I think that can happen
to any team at any point in time. It's just so competitive. If you get
off just a little bit, the next thing you know, you're running 20th.
It's just very competitive. I think what Carl and his team have going
for them, they haven't been running like they want, but they're still
hanging in there, doing what it takes to get decent finishes, staying up
in that top 12.
Where it comes time when they get it figured out, if they're still in
the hunt, they can take advantage of it. No matter how you're running,
it's important to get those good finishes and fight and claw each week
for everything you can get.
Q:
Talking about getting into the Chase, we're halfway there. I guess
historically on average about nine of the top 12 that we see now do end
up making the Chase. You're just outside of it by about 15 points. What
do you think your chances are and is it all points racing from here on
out for the next 13 or so?
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.:
I think our chances are really good. I feel like
we're getting stronger each week as a team. I know the 600 didn't go as
we had planned. I really felt going in we would have a shot to win based
on how we had been the last two weeks at Charlotte. It didn't work out
for us. We fought some things with the car that were unexpected.
I think our chances are good. Obviously we've done a good job of being
consistent up to this point. We're constantly working on trying to be
more competitive, be quicker each week. Obviously it would be nice to
be in by a comfortable margin right now so you could go out there and
really work and try some things, try some things to get faster.
On one hand, you have to be a little bit conservative because you want
to be consistent and run in the top 10 or 15 and get those points. But
at the same time you need to keep pushing forward and need to take some
chances on your setups, work on your racecar to try to find that speed
it takes to win.
We're kind of stuck in the middle right now. But the guys on the team
have done great. I feel like we're getting better each week. For us
being a new team, to be where we're at right now, from here going
forward, we're just going to keep getting strong, hopefully move into
that top 12, be solid, be able to go out and race for wins. Right now
that's what we're looking towards doing.
Q:
Being with a new team, you're 13 races in at Michael Waltrip Racing,
with your second crew chief since you started into NASCAR. Do you feel
like you have settled in comfortably or is there more work to go before
you hit that chemistry?
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.:
I think we're on course where we thought we'd be.
Obviously, the transition for me was very easy going to a new team.
Hardest part about it was making the decision, pulling the trigger to
do it. Everything has been going really well. The team has done a great
job. They've got great leadership.
You know, Pat has done a great job. He's been easy to work with. He's
been a lot of fun. He's very smart about his racecars. We've been having
a good time with it.
So it's been good. Again, it's just about us continuing to work
together, him getting to know what I'm saying a little bit better, and
us both understanding our racecars a little bit better.
Like I said, Charlotte was a little bit unexpected. But here as of
late, the past month and a half or so, I've been very happy with the
performance of the cars and the way things have been going.
We just need to continue to work towards being faster and being more
competitive each week.
Q:
This past weekend Tony Stewart ran into a crew member of Greg Biffle
on pit road. He's doing okay, which is good news. How much do you think
of that as you are zipping in and out of pit road?
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.:
Well, it doesn't happen very often. Obviously we
don't hear it very often. I'm not sure what happened in that case, I
haven't seen it. I've only actually hit one person before and it was my
own crew guy, first time I ever went to Daytona. You come down pit road
at Daytona, you're used to running 185 or 190 some miles an hour. You
come down pit road, it's slippery. I just slid right through my box, hit
my jackman, put him up on the hood.
For the most part guys do a good job of paying attention, not only the
crew guys paying attention who is coming in behind 'em and things like
that, to what's going on. So you don't see it very often. Obviously you
hate to see it happen. Glad the guy is okay.
Q:
Every year about this time we hear comparing Pocono to Indianapolis.
How much can you truly learn this weekend and use it down the road at
Indianapolis?
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.:
I don't know. I've never really thought of them as
being similar. I mean, the surfaces are so much different at the two
tracks. The only thing I feel like they have in common is that they're
semi-flat. Pocono has three different turns, a lot of bumps in it, which
Indianapolis is very smooth. I've never been able to compare the two
that much.
Aerodynamically, I think the cars are similar or need similar things to
get around there, which isn't a big issue these days with the COT. I
don't know. You know, it's hard to say. But sometimes you'll see a guy
run good at both places, sometimes a guy will dominate at one place and
struggle at the other. I think it takes a lot different setup than it
used to at those two racetracks.
Q:
You used the word 'consistent' earlier. You have been consistent
with the exception of Fontana. Talk about that. At this point of the
season, it's all about getting into the Chase, being able to finish
races. You've been able to do that for the most part.
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.:
Yeah, we have. That's been obviously a big part of
our program. You talk about California. We lost an engine there. The
other race we had trouble at was Atlanta, which was one of the best runs
we had all year. We got caught in that green-white-checkered accident
running fifth or sixth.
The consistency has been there. We understand that. We want to run up
front, compete for wins for NAPA and everybody on our team. I feel like
we're getting closer. We've had a few times where we've had cars capable
of getting up here and doing it; haven't taken advantage of it. We need
to make sure when we have those days, we take advantage of it. When we
don't have the best of days, we need to get good finishes. That's what
we're focused on.
A big part of that is teamwork, chemistry on the team, what Pat is
doing with his leadership, obviously our pit crew has been phenomenal,
doing all the little things right. Just need to keep doing that and be
consistent, take advantage of the good days when we have 'em.
Q:
You talk about Dover being your home track. What are your feelings
about Pocono? I take it racing at Pocono is not as much fun for you as
Dover.
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.:
Pocono is fun. I enjoy the track. Obviously we talked
about how challenging it is with the three turns being different, the
surface being old and wore out and bumpy. It's a huge challenge to get a
car to go around there the way you want it to.
Heck, Pocono is almost as close to home as Dover. You know, I enjoy
going up there. I spent a lot of time up there as a kid skiing in the
wintertime. The Race of Champions for the modifieds used to be at
Pocono. I used to watch my dad and uncles there.
It's another track I consider kind of a home game. I've had some good
runs there in the past. The last couple times there haven't been too
good for me. Looking forward to going back there with my new team, see
what kind of car we'll bring, and I think it should be a great weekend
for us.
Q:
You're kind of on that Chase bubble right now. Does your experience
from a few years ago help you at all?
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.:
Yeah, I mean, I think it does a little bit. You know,
obviously you're not panicking when you're sitting there 15 or 20 some
points out, throwing things at the car that you shouldn't, just driving
yourself crazy with it. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen.
Like I said earlier, I've got a great team and they're doing all the
right things.
We just need to make sure we take advantage of all our opportunities,
just keep doing what we've been doing. I was really disappointed in our
run this weekend. But the guys are working hard on that. I know nobody
was more disappointed than Pat. We just need to be consistent. That's
the name of the game, being consistent, getting those top-10, top-12
finishes. That's what it's going to take to get there.
So we're focused on that. If we do everything right, if we do all the
things we can control, the points will take care of themselves and we'll
be in.
Q:
As far as Pocono, the three different turns, do you find the
challenge fun or frustrating?
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.:
I've had it both ways. A couple years ago, we had
some really good runs there, had a shot to win two of 'em. That's one
of those places, like Dover, where when you get your car pretty good,
you're competitive, it's a lot of fun. But when your stuff is off, it
makes for a very, very long, challenging, difficult, frustrating kind of
day. When you're off, you're so far off. It can go both ways.
I'm looking forward to going back there. I enjoy the challenge of three
different turns. I feel if we can get our car pretty close, I'm pretty
comfortable running there. I like it enough I can hopefully make up the
difference.
Q:
We've all been talking about the Chase. It's open to anyone. Can you
explain to the race fans in your own words how much fire does that put
into you and also the entire race team?
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.:
Well, it puts a lot in us. When you're sitting there
on the edge, you know you have a chance, your team is capable, that's
kind of like the light at the end of the tunnel. It's a huge deal to get
in the Chase. It's very, very difficult. There's a lot of teams capable
of doing it. It's just a matter of making it happen.
It puts a lot of drive in everyone on the team. Really, you know, when
you're coming into the season, that's one of your first goals. Okay, you
want to get to Victory Lane, you want to run up front, but you want to
make the Chase. That's a big deal for us.
You know, it really drives us. That's really what we're focused on right
now.
Q:
After Pocono, it's the Michigan track where you can run almost wide
open. Doesn't a track like Michigan push all the drivers to go out there
and sort of just let it all hang out?
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.:
Well, I think these days it's so competitive, you
have to let it all hang out everywhere. Every lap on the racetrack, the
first lap on the track off the trailer, everybody in practice is wide
open. That's just the mentality of what it takes nowadays.
Michigan, again, is a very big, fast racetrack. It takes a lot of
finesse. It's very slick, wears tires out. You have to be smooth at the
same time and have a good-handling car.
Q:
Does your calm personality change a lot when you get behind the wheel
and race? As competitive as you guys are, isn't it kind of expected that
tempers are going to flair from time to time and you get results like
we've seen every once in a while on the track?
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.:
Yeah, I think it's expected that people are going to
lose their tempers at times. It's very intense being in that racecar.
You know, people talk about guys hollering and yelling and screaming on
the radio sometimes. There's no one in there to talk to. The only thing
you have is that button, so you just want to start yelling.
But, you know, I get fired up in the car just as much as anybody else
does. I think I'm a bit of a different person when I put on the helmet.
At least that's what some people say. At the same time I think my calm
demeanor helps me in the racecar stay calm at times, more calm than some
would at certain points in the race. There's a lot of times that that's
very important. You got to keep your focus in there and keep focused on
the goals, the challenges ahead of you.
You know, it works out for me sometimes. I don't know (laughter).
Q:
Did your demeanor come to you naturally? You come from a racing
family. Do you think you kind of picked that up from being around it?
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.:
A little bit, I guess. I don't know. I guess it's
just kind of my personality. Everybody's different. So it's just the way
I go about my business. I think it works well for me.
Q:
Just wanted to get your thoughts. You're with a brand-new race team
this year. Obviously you had some expectations at the beginning of the
season. How are some of those coming about you now that you're a partial
way through?
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.:
I think they're lining up with what I kind of
expected. You know, obviously it was a big deal for me, a big change
for me, a new team, new sponsor with NAPA, new crew chief. There were
a lot of things new. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I was
very optimistic and excited about the opportunity. I felt really good
about the team. I felt like they were doing everything right to be
competitive.
It's gone about as well as I thought it would, maybe even a little
better on some occasions. Yeah, it's been really good. It's been
rewarding. It's been a lot of fun. It's been a lot of work, but
everything is going very, very well. I've been very happy with the race
team they put together for me to drive for.
You know, I feel like we're probably ahead of schedule as far as the
performance has gone, the team coming together, getting on the same
page, starting to understand things.
So I think going forward, we're just going to keep getting better, and
hopefully that's the case.
DENISE MALOOF:
Martin, thank you very much for joining us today. We
appreciate your time. Best of luck this weekend.
MARTIN TRUEX, JR.:
Thank you very much for having me.
-source: nascar
