|
ONE ON ONE INTERVIEWS |
|
ONE ON ONE INTERVIEWS |
|
An interview with:
Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
for NASCAR
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.
Credit: Jonathan Ferrey / Getty Images for NASCAR
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.
Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR
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.
DENISE MALOOF: Thanks to the media that
participated. We always appreciate your participation every week.
|
