TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
Martin Truex Jr. & Ryan Truex — Notes & Quotes
New Hampshire Motor Speedway – July 14, 2012
MARTIN TRUEX, JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing How much do you enjoy racing at New Hampshire? “It’s always exciting for me to come up here. We’ve got a lot of family history here with my dad winning back in ’94 and me coming up through the Busch North Series ranks up here. Always been a special place. Ryan’s (Truex) won a few races up here. This is the only track that all three of us have won at so it’s a cool place to come. I’ve got a lot of great memories here. I’ve been coming here since I was a little kid — Ryan has too. Great place for us to come to race. Always enjoy coming to the Northeast. I’m excited to be here. Our NAPA Toyota has been pretty fast all weekend. Good qualifying effort and trying to continue a strong season, which has been pretty good up until the last five or six weeks. We’ve been in three accidents in five weeks. Try to get that turned around here and have a good run this weekend.”
What is your favorite racing memory at New Hampshire? “That’s a good one. I think for me it would be, I believe it was 1992 or 1993 so I was 10 or 12-years-old, whatever it was. We were here for the Chevy Dealers 250 race, that’s what it used to be called. It was a combination race between the Busch North Series and the Busch Series — they would combine that race. My dad came here to run that. We were in the garage — it’s the Cup garage now and my dad’s car was parked here and I was of course hanging out with them and helping them work on it and stuff and Dale Earnhardt’s car was parked right across the garage nose-to-nose. He was my favorite driver as a kid so seeing Dale get out of his car, I remember him being up in the fender well working on his carburetor and stuff like that. I just thought it was the coolest thing. That was probably one of my greatest memories and not only because I saw Dale, but I was sitting there thinking that my dad is going to race against Dale Earnhardt. That was a pretty special thing for me.”
What is the latest on your contract with MWR? “I didn’t expect anyone to bring that up — of course I’m kidding. We’re getting close. We’re kind of finalizing some details, but I’ve been obviously extremely happy with the performance of the team this year. It’s been so great to be a part of MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing), not only this year, but the last three seasons. To really be a part of where we’ve kind of come from as a team and where we’re heading. To be a part of that building process and be a part of the performance of the team increasing and kind of feel like I’ve had a little bit to do with the team’s success has been very fun for me and it’s something I want to continue doing. For us, right now it’s just about putting the details together. Again, I’m looking forward to spending a lot more years at Michael Waltrip Racing and hopefully we can get that wrapped up soon.”
How much do you think about getting your contract done? “It’s one of those things that you never really think about until time is up. You go out there and you race and you race for two years and three months and you’re like, ‘Oh no.’ Somebody brings it up to you and it’s like, ‘When are you going to re- sign? Have you re-signed yet?’ Then you’re like, ‘I hadn’t even thought about it.’ It’s one of those deals where you kind of put it out of your mind. You get so focused and so into being a teammate and a team player — being part of the everyday operations of a race team, you really forget that your time is almost up there and you’re really only hired to work for them. You’re not really hired by the team — I don’t know, it’s kind of strange when things like that come up and you just kind of forget about them. For me, we just want to get it done and get it out of the way so we can continue down the path we’re on, which has been a good one, especially this year.”
What is it like sharing the bond of racing with your brother? “Well, it’s been a lot of fun for me to be part of Ryan’s (Truex) career — to watch him come up. Obviously, we’re probably closer today than we’ve ever been and that’s because growing up I moved away and I was racing — trying to make a living. He was still a kid living at home. We didn’t get to spend a lot of time together when he was young and we’re kind of catching up on that now. He’s staying in my garage because he’s broke, trying to make a living in racing. That’s what you do. You put your life on hold and you go race cars. I admire his passion for the sport, his passion for what he’s doing — he eats, breaths, sleeps racing. That’s all he thinks about. It’s been fun to watch him progress. It’s been fun to see — the coolest part was seeing how much he actually knew about racing when we never even knew he wanted to race.”
Are there any family secrets about getting around New Hampshire? “There used to be some tricks really to getting around this place and for some reason the last couple of years it hasn’t worked for me. I think back when we ran Busch North, there was some things that you could do to get a bit of an advantage, but everybody is so good nowadays, especially in the Sprint Cup Series and the Nationwide Series — I believe pretty much everywhere we go, everybody knows the little secrets and the little tendencies of the race track. It’s all about just getting your car driving good. I think the secrets are over-rated anymore to be honest with you.”
MARTIN TRUEX, JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing (continued) Do you do any recreational fishing while you are in the Northeast? “For recreational fishing, I like to go about anywhere. Growing up our family business was commercial clamming so it’s a bit different than recreational stuff. I love to fish for about anything. I’m actually going from here out to the Cape for a few days and hopefully I’ll get some fishing in there. As far as lobsters go, I just buy them at the restaurant.”
Is this a good time for an off-weekend and what are your plans? “I think it is — we don’t get many. We’ve only had one other one this year so it will be a welcome weekend for me — get a little time. We’re actually going to do some testing and get ready for Watkins Glen. The guys will be preparing and it’s a good time really for them to just at least have a weekend at home. They’ve been on the road for 16 weeks or something. The biggest thing is to get them a little bit of a break and get them geared back up for the last 17-race stretch and try to be the best prepared we can for that.”
RYAN TRUEX, No. 18 Grime Boss Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing (NASCAR Nationwide Series) How much do you enjoy racing at New Hampshire? “I grew up coming here and watching him (Martin Truex Jr.) race here and my dad and everything. Pretty much every time I come up here, there’s a new person that will come up and say that they remember when I was this big coming here. I have no idea who they are. It happened already again this week. Some guy said he used to come here and race with my dad. It’s cool to come here. It kind of feels like a second home track. For some reason, I’ve always run good here and been able to get two wins here. I’m hoping I can make it three today.”
What is your favorite racing memory at New Hampshire? “Every time I come here I have fun. My best memory would be winning here two times in the same year. The first time I came here, I led probably the second-half of the race and lost it on the last lap. I was able to come back and just sweep the season — it was really cool.”
What is your relationship like with your brother, Martin Truex Jr.? “I was always around racing when he (Martin Truex Jr.) was racing Busch North for my dad, I used to come to the shop. He would pick on me the whole time — as would everybody else there. I was always around paying attention. I never wanted to race until I was probably 12. Then I had another two years of begging my dad to let me drive something. I was able to pick it up right away and be fast. Having him and my dad both to kind of be my experience to lean on has been a lot of help for me and it’s helped me progress a lot, especially now. You see Cup drivers come down to the Nationwide Series and they just win all the races, just because they have so much experience. They’ve been there before. He has experience and I can kind of go to him for it because I don’t have any. I don’t know — what else do you want to know about him? I’ve got some bad stuff I can tell you, but I won’t. I’ll be nice because he’s right next to me.”
How did they pick on you? “Let me think, it was all the guys that worked at the shop because they all knew me and knew me forever. Actually two of the guys that worked on his team worked on my Legend car and late model. I remember one time — you ever see the old rag boxes with the hole in the top that you punch out? I got stuffed inside of those one time. I got put in there and they taped it back up. I was little, but still. I was scared — I didn’t like it. I’m trying to think of what else. If we were in the team van with the 56 on the side, they’d tie me up in the seatbelts and leave me there. It was always something. I was always the one getting picked on.”
What is your status on a full time ride at Joe Gibbs Racing next year? “I’ve got two more races with them this year — right now, with Grime Boss. Working on next year. That is my goal is to go full time next year. Just trying to find the funding to do it and put things together. We’re working on it and working towards it. Hopefully, I can close out these last three races with some good runs, maybe even some wins.” Are there any family secrets about getting around New Hampshire? “I’ve always asked him (Martin Truex Jr.) and my dad how to get around here. Actually the first time I came here Eddie MacDonald races in the K&N Series, he’s from around here. I followed him my first time here in practice and that’s kind of where I learned the line from. Ever since then, it’s the same line I ran pretty much every time I’ve been here.”
