Toyota Racing – Martin Truex Jr.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
NASCAR Media Tour, Charlotte – January 24, 2018
Furniture Row Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to the media in Charlotte:
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/5-Hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Furniture Row Racing
What do you think of where Ryan Truex is now?
“I’m very optimistic about it, as he is. I think it’s a great opportunity for him. Last year did a lot for, I feel like, his ‑‑ what people see in him as a driver, as a personality as a driver. He’s grown a lot over the years, and I think for a while he was kind of cast aside because everybody always thought he was really quiet and he’s really reserved and it was hard to get him to say anything. He’s kind of changed a lot over the years, and that kind of got lost in the shuffle. Good for people to see his personality last year, but most importantly what he could do behind the wheel. That team they had last year, they did a great job in kind of build a truck and did some things on a low budget and ran really well. That was good not only for his name but also for his confidence, to be able to do that. So I think this year is a really good opportunity. A really good team, had some good success the past couple seasons, and we’ll see what he can do with it.”
Has he gotten more vocal in the family?
“Everything. He’s completely changed. But I mean, he grew up. You’ve got to remember, he was 16 when he started racing and moved to North Carolina when he was 18, so he was just ‑‑ he’s changed a lot. He’s grown up a lot, matured.”
Is it really kind of a sinking in moment?
“It was part of it, I think. I think it still is, though. I don’t know that it’s still 100 percent. I don’t know if I’m going to feel different tomorrow or still going to feel different when I show up at Daytona (International Speedway). I don’t know how long it lasts. But it still feels really good, and it doesn’t go away as we go. It’s like, it’s still pretty damned awesome. I don’t know, maybe when we start racing we’ll stop thinking about it or thinking about what it means, but it’s been a ton of fun. It’s for sure been a lot of work. Not had much of an off‑season to speak of, but it’s definitely something I would do again given the chance.”
You mentioned the kind of crazy off‑season you’ve had. How has Sherry Pollex kept up with all of that?
“I sent her to Florida for about four weeks, and I went on tour. That’s basically how that all worked. She’s doing really good with it. All is going well on her end, as well. She’s going to go to the Super Bowl with me next weekend, or in two weeks. We’re going to the Bahamas next week, so my off‑season is next week.”
You mentioned in some aspects it’s still sinking in, but as a champion, what added responsibility or what things maybe now do you feel like you can speak on that you wouldn’t necessarily have before?
“I don’t know that what I would or wouldn’t speak on has really changed. I think I’ve always had what’s best for me and the sport in my interest.”
Do you feel more of a responsibility now as a champion?
“I don’t think more responsibility, but I think if you do have a ‑‑ if you do feel a certain way about something, you have a little bit more leverage to maybe make some changes or get things done or make something happen or maybe even make people ‑‑ other guys agree with you and help make a difference maybe, but I don’t know. For the most part I honestly don’t feel a whole lot different. I haven’t done anything different. I haven’t changed at all. I still like the same things and dislike the same things and do the same things. I haven’t bought anything extravagant. I don’t know, still friends with all the same people. But I have got to do a lot of fun different stuff and some doors have opened that probably wouldn’t have before. I’m sure going down the road that some things are going to change, but I don’t know what those are going to be yet, but it’s been a lot of fun, like I said, and yeah, hasn’t really changed me, but it’s maybe changed my life in some respects.”
Are you going to the game just as a fan or are you going to do some ‑‑
“Both. Yeah, I’m actually ‑‑ so I was slated to go to the game before my team made it, which was kind of cool. Yeah, going for NASCAR to do some NBC stuff with Dale Jr. pregame, and excited about that. And then it was like, all right, my team is pretty good this year, we’ve got a chance, we’ve got a chance, and the NFC Championship game was a pretty good celebration at my house last weekend, and yeah, I’m really jacked about it. It’s going to be awesome.”
When is the last time you saw them play live?
“I believe it was 2015 in Philly. I haven’t been in two years, so it had to be 2015. And I’ve never been to the Super Bowl, so the fact that I’m going to the Super Bowl for the first time in my life, my favorite team is going, as well, for only the second time since I’ve been born, that’s pretty cool.”
If you’re not named Jimmie Johnson, why has everyone who’s won the title not been able to repeat it?
“Why? I don’t know.”
Any idea why?
“It’s hard. You know, I think more so now than even before his time, it’s hard because this format. You know, I mean, years ago we had normal point race all year long. I would have to say that is way, way easier to repeat than what we have now currently, without any shadow of a doubt. It’s just going to get harder, and that stat is going to probably live on for ‑‑ it has potential to live on for a long, long time, and it’s going to get harder to repeat.”
Do you feel like any more of a fan favorite or that people know you more?
“I don’t consider myself a fan favorite now, so I don’t know ‑‑ it’s hard to say. We’ll just have to see. I love racing. I do my best, and what happens happens.”
Does Cole Pearn have rock star status in your mind?
“To me, yes.”
He seems so low key, but there’s a competitive drive in him that seems like it drives him.
“Oh, absolutely. I mean, yeah, he’s relentless. His work ethic and what he’s willing to do, he’ll do anything to win and to be competitive and get the job done. You know, him and all of our guys feed on that, whether it’s the shop guys or the road guys or even the pit crew. They feed off of that, and it’s been a big reason for our success.”
This current schedule has been very kind to your team, of course. I don’t know if you heard (Kevin) Harvick yesterday about the changes. Do you welcome that?
“Sure. I’ll go anywhere and race. I don’t care. No, honestly, I actually feel like the schedule doesn’t really ‑‑ the past couple years, the playoff schedule probably hasn’t been some of our strongest tracks. You’ve got Martinsville in there, Talladega, and Homestead really the last couple years for our team specifically has been tough. Obviously this year we won it, but we kind of defied the odds a little. Phoenix is not a good track for us. So I mean, there’s a handful of them in there now that we’d rather go somewhere else. I’m perfectly fine. I think Harvick has got a really good point about changing it up, keeping it new, keeping it interesting. I don’t know what all that entails, and I’m sure the tracks aren’t happy to hear about it, but I guess if you spread the love around and you mix it up, then everybody should be happy, right, not just the 10 tracks that have the race now. I think he makes a valid point, and I’d be all for it.”
Over the last decade, a lot of drivers and teams would say that the 48 car and others have kind of been the role model of consistency. Do you feel like maybe the 78 is a part of that group?
“I certainly hope so. I think it’s more challenging today to find advantages, certainly keep advantages with the rules and the way things are. Everything is just so close. I think some of our advantages we can keep because there’s a lot of stuff we keep close to the vest, and a lot of it is personnel and mindsets and the way we work together. Our chemistry of our team, a lot of those things are parts and pieces of our success and part of why we feel like we’ve had an advantage. We’ll just have to see. You’re not going to out‑spend anybody anymore like you used to and come up with some crazy setups that nobody can figure out. Those days are gone, so it’s definitely going to be difficult. But I feel like we’ve got a great team, and we still have things we can improve on as we move forward, and hopefully we continue success.”
What would you say is the coolest thing you’ve done as the champion?
“The media tour today. (Laughter.)”
That’s a great answer. The Super Bowl?
“I was going to say that.”
What has the reception been like in Denver?
“So I was there just a week or so after the championship, had a little celebration, had the mayor at the showroom and had the trophy there and had to do some pictures for Mile High Sports magazine, and then I was just back there I guess it was two weeks ago, three weeks ago now. It all runs together, photo shoot, commercials, those kind of things. I haven’t really got out in the public much. I’ve been so busy when I’ve been there. It’s like, you go in, you do your work, and you’ve got to leave and go somewhere else. So I’m not real sure to be honest with you what the reach has been or what people think. Hard to say. But I know there were some things in the newspaper, interviewing people and some of the stuff (Joe) Garone has told me about just how much kind of notoriety it got, the championship, and the celebration and all the people going on Twitter asking for a parade and all those things. It was pretty cool.”
Has the championship been therapeutic for Barney Visser?
“Barney is hard to read, hard to gauge. I seen him right after Homestead that first time I was there, and he looked really good. I was amazed. I was sitting in the airport getting ready to leave, and of course he didn’t come to the celebration because he didn’t want to be around a lot of people at that point in time, and he’s like, well, I want to see you at the airport, I’m going to come see you before you leave. He comes be‑bopping down the hallway of the airport, and I’m like, hang on a minute. I was like, did you lie to us? Nothing happened to you. There was never ever wrong with you. He looked completely fine, and this was like three, four weeks after surgery. He looked great then. And the last time I was out there a few weeks ago we had dinner. He sounds great, he looks great. He said he feels amazing and stamina is back, and he’s got high hopes for this going forward. He’s going to feel really good. Yeah, it’s good to see him doing well, and hopefully this year he’ll be able to celebrate more with us.”
So you think everything about the Roval is the most challenging part of the track?
“Yes. I’m telling you, it’s going to be very difficult. The hardest part is there’s so many changes in banking and cambers, and the makeshift chicane on the backstretch goes from the racetrack to the flat, back to the racetrack. It’s like ‑‑ and there’s so much of this going on and like ‑‑ you’re just all over the place, and then of course you’ve got to have the car set up to go 175‑ish around Turns 3 and 4, 20 whatever ‑‑ I don’t know what Charlotte is, 28 degrees, 24 degrees of banking, to keep the things off the trace track, and then you go in the infield and the car is six inches off the ground all the way through the infield. I’m telling you it’s so much bigger of a challenge than people realize, and I don’t know why, but when we tire tested there last year, it would just eat the tires off the car. You know, 10 laps, you couldn’t touch the throttle anymore. 10 laps. I’m like, I can’t ‑‑ on the infield, I can’t touch the throttle at all. It’s going to be a huge challenge. So I don’t know. I mean, I think there’s still a lot of unknowns about the track, about how we’re going to do it, the turf around the chicane coming off of Turn 4 in the infield there, dropping your tires in that stuff is like hitting ice. There’s a lot going on there that we don’t know about. The curbs aren’t put in yet. There’s a lot of unknowns. But it’s going to be very, very, very challenging. I can’t stress that enough.”
Do you expect a lot of folks (indiscernible)?
“I think we should just have the All‑Star Race there and try it. I mean, let’s just go for it.”
Last week you were part of the Hall of Fame induction for Red Byron. Have you allowed the thought into your brain, your head at all that you will likely be inducted into the hall at some point?
“You know, I never thought about it until Winston Kelley actually said it to me. Before Christmas every year, our foundation, we go to Levine’s and walk around and hand out toys to all the kids, and I put my Santa hat on. It’s a lot of fun, so I really enjoy it. Winston Kelley always goes there and helps, and he’s like, just out of the blue, we’re standing there talking and getting ready to go hand out toys, and he’s like, you know, you’re pretty much a lock to get in here now. He told me that, and I was like, well, I hadn’t even thought of that. That’s insane. I was like ‑‑ that was one of the moments this winter that I forgot about, what it was like. Yeah, I can’t believe that. Just to think ‑‑ yeah, that’s just crazy. Blows my mind.”
But you were anxious before and not anxious now?
“Yeah, absolutely. I feel like ‑‑ I feel zero pressure at all. I feel nothing. I’m so like ‑‑ like I’m so confident. I feel like we can just ‑‑ honestly, I really feel like we can go and start the season right where we left off, just pick up where we left off and continue as a team as we’ve done the last couple years of just ‑‑ we know what to work on, and we’re just going to keep going down that road and hopefully have more success, but you never know. We’ll just have to see how it all goes, but I’m not feeling any pressure, I’m not anxious at all, and I’ll be ready when we get to Daytona.”
