NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
SPRINT SHOWDOWN
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MAY 15, 2015
MARTIN TRUEX, JR., NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW/VISSER PRECISION CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed the team’s success this far this year, what it would mean to make be in the All-Star Race, his new crew chief, and more. Full Transcript:
YOU ARE IN THE TOP FIVE IN THE FAN VOTE FOR THE SPRINT ALL-STAR. YOU’VE ALSO WON THE SHOWDOWN TWICE. WHAT’S YOUR STRATEGY IN MAKING THE ALL-STAR EVENT IF YOU DON’T WIN THE FAN VOTE?
“If you win either of the first two segments, you’re in. Our plan is to hopefully win the first 20. We’ll have to see how qualifying goes first and go from there, but I think that’s a little bit different. Usually that first pit stop, the four-tire strategy was important, and we’ve been on both sides of that. It takes that out of play a little bit.”
WHO WAS YOUR MENTOR OR SOMEBODY WHO GUIDED YOU TO START YOUR CAREER WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER?
“That would be my dad. I grew up racing with him and watching him. He was a driver, so that’s really what got me into racing. That’s what peaked my interest at a young age and that got me into Go-Kart racing and things like that. So, it was him, by far. There are some other guys at local short tracks that I looked up to and loved to watch race and wanted to be like those guys when I was a kid.”
THE LAST TIME YOU WERE HERE WAS FOR THE TEST FOR THE 2016 PACKAGE. IT SEEMS LIKE NASCAR HAS HAD SECOND THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THAT TEST? WOULD THAT HAVE BEEN A GOOD DIRECTION TO GO?
“I think it was a good direction. I just don’t think we had the right tire for the package we had. We only had four cars. We didn’t have the right tire; we didn’t have enough cars. It was hard to gauge exactly what was better about it or what was worse about it. The four of us that were out there trying to race and see how the car ran in traffic, we didn’t get the feel that we thought we would with less downforce. So, the off-throttle time was a little bit more. But it seemed like the guy with clean air had more advantage than what we had with the 2015 rules. So, there was nothing clear. There were just too many unknowns with the tires and with there being four cars there. I wish we could have done it with more cars and had some more tires for options to really get to work on it because it had some things. The speeds were slower in the middle of the corner, which is what everybody is looking for. We just didn’t have the combination and the amount of guys to really put it to use.”
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO YOU TO GET INTO THE ALL-STAR RACE JUST TO GET LAPS IN PREPARATION FOR THE LONGEST RACE NEXT WEEKEND?
“I don’t know. This race is so different than what the 600 is and really what you try to get your car to do. The All-Star Race is all about short run speed and it’s all about taking off on restarts for five to 10 laps and then just kind of trying to maintain. It’s a lot different than what we’re going to do next week. Obviously we want to be in it because you don’t like to sit there and watch everybody out there racing. We weren’t in it last year. Anytime the guys you normally race against every week are out there running, you’re miserable if you’re watching. More than anything, we just kind of want to get in it to have some fun and have a shot at winning and it’s just an exciting event with no points on the line. It’s one that everybody wants to be a part of. I don’t think, if something did happen, and we didn’t get in the show tomorrow, I don’t think it would handcuff us, as far as having a good run next week in the 600.”
HOW DOES YOU TEAM COMPARE AT THIS TIME THIS YEAR TO THIS TIME LAST YEAR? HOW MUCH HAS YOUR CREW CHIEF, COAL PEARN, HELPED MOVE YOU GUYS UP THE LADDER?”
“There is no comparison from where we were last year to where we are now, from a confidence standpoint in each other and in the equipment we’re bringing to the race track and in the decisions that are being made. We feel good every weekend now when we show up at the track. I’m always so optimistic about the weekend coming up and looking forward to seeing what the guys bring to the track and how competitive we’re going to be. Last year, at this point in the year, we were just really searching. We were searching for big things. And that’s never a fun position to be in as a race team, especially at this level. We’ve been showing up to the track with great speed this year and with a good understanding of what we’re going to have and what we needed to work on to be better. That’s worked out well for us. In every area of what we do, I feel like our team is better. Coal is a bit part of that, obviously. The engineers he brought in over the winter to help him do his job better area big part of that, and the equipment we have; there are just so many things that are different than last year. The big thing is that it’s been a lot easier this year and it’s been a lot more fun. That’s the key.”
ALONG WITH HAVING A REALLY GOOD START TO THE SEASON, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU’VE GAINED A LOT OF FAN SUPPORT, TOO. THERE ARE A LOT OF FANS ROOTING FOR THE NO. 78 ON SOCIAL MEDIA. HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT?
“I have. It’s been great. I’ve been watching people voting for weeks on my Twitter page. It’s been cool. This week, Dale Jr. tweeted that he was voting for me; he did vote for me, so that was awesome. Certainly him putting that up there goes a long way to helping us. We know Danica (Patrick) is going to get a lot of the votes and to have Junior backing our team definitely puts us in the running for that, so it’s really cool. Hopefully, we won’t need it. But, it’s nice to know that we have a chance if we do, so it’s going to be cool.”
TALK ABOUT THE CATWALK FOR A CAUSE
“It was great, as every year has been, it’s exceeded expectations as far as the support we get and how good people’s thoughts on how the show was. It was incredible. It gets bigger and bigger each year. Soon, we’re going to have to find a new place to have it because we’re running out of room. So, I’m proud of everybody in our foundation for what they do and proud of Sherry (Pollex) for coming up with the idea six or seven years ago. I’m just thankful for all the sponsors and for everybody that came out to the show and saw it and all the kids and all the doctors from Levine’s (Children’s Hospital) and everybody that is a part of it. It’s an amazing event and I know a lot of the people here have been to it. And I think the coolest thing for us after we put it on is people go for the first time and they can’t believe what they see. Everyone hears about it. Everybody knows what’s going to happen. And when they see it with their own eyes, they’re amazed. I’m just proud of everybody for what they’re doing and proud to be able to raise a lot of money for Levine’s and the kids there.”