Mark Martin - Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

On the morning of Jan. 23, Mark Martin, dressed in his new firesuit, waited patiently in an office at Michael Waltrip Racing reading texts on his Sprint iPhone. An Aaron’s commercial was to begin filming in the shop a few minutes later.

A messenger brought in the word.

“Hey Mark, Michael just signed up you for Twitter and your address is @55markmartin.”

Martin looked up puzzled and simply said “OK…what does that mean?”

Within minutes Martin began Twitter lessons on his phone but was obviously still a bit unsure what his new boss just got him into.

“I don’t know about this,” said Martin, who begins his 30^th Sprint Cup season in 2012.

“I’m not what they call an early adapter to new technology. I wasn’t a big fan of HDTV when it first came out, but after trying it out I can’t live without it now. So, I’ll try it.”

Waltrip, whose own Twitter following exceeds 81,000, offered some advice.

“I said, ‘You don’t have to be controversial, just follow along and let the fans have a peek into who you are,” suggested the two-time Daytona 500 champion.

Martin took the first tentative steps on Twitter and cautioned new followers that he’s still learning about social media.

“I don’t plan on tweeting about once a week,” he warned.

Martin began answering fan questions on subjects ranging from what he thought of his new team, his 25-race schedule or how much he can bench press. As the days ticked by he became more prolific, tweeting more than 200 times the first week. Mostly he talks about racing and his favorite music. He even learned to block followers jokingly threatening former teammate Matt Kenseth.

“I just like playing with it and talking to the fans,” said Martin who even tweeted over the weekend. “Never thought I’d get into it, but it’s kind of neat. At first I wasn’t sure Michael did me a favor because the last thing I need is something to take up more time, but it’s been fun so far. I’d have never done it on my own. I thought just kids did it, but I’ve got people all ages following me now.”

Within the first week his following surpassed 10,000.

“I guess they’ve hooked me,” Martin said.

Source: Michael Waltrip Racing, Press Release

(Left to right) Mark Martin, driver of the No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota, Michael Waltrip, owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, and Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, pose for a photo during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday in Cornelius, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

Is there more pressure on your team with the changes this year? “I think if you break it down, there was more pressure last year because we basically had the same goals as we have this year. But, we didn’t have the equipment to go do the job with. So, now we still aspire to accomplish the same things but we have a better toy, you know — we have a faster car. We have a more aerodynamically designed, we have a better Toyota Camry to go race with. I’m glad our expectations are high and I’m glad they were this past season, but now we have a car I believe we can go win with. My answer would be no, we’re prepared and we’re ready. I believe we’re going to do the job.”

How important is Twitter to your organization and how was hard was it to get Mark Martin on Twitter? “I was a little unfair to Mark (Martin), I kind of tricked him. I think he’ll love it though. I know Mark, he loves this sport and he’ll see. For example, this morning there was something on Twitter about a sponsor going with another team that I hadn’t heard anywhere before. It’s what’s relative to me, it’s things that matter to me that I can get my news from. It’s instant. So, I explained that to Mark. I said, ‘You don’t have to be controversial, just follow along and let the fans have a peek into who you are. He was happy he signed up. (Clint) Bowyer hadn’t got there yet, but hopefully we can convince him to do the same. I get it, I can tell customers to go to NAPA and get a brake job or an oil filter on a cheap price, for the best price if I choose to. Or, I can tell them to watch a movie that I like. We can share all kinds of different stories. I like it because I think it keeps me in touch with the fans. I get to hear sometimes good, sometimes bad, but I get to hear what they’re thinking. I just enjoy it. Part of my daily routine is to check Twitter, check what’s going on in the world and also see what’s going on in my world which is NASCAR.”

Do you feel it’s important to have drivers that mesh well with your personality? “I just love my lineup. I think that Clint (Bowyer) is a very energetic, engaging guy. I like the way he likes to have fun. That’s a good step up for our organization. Then you have the respected, savvy, tough, committed, dedicated veteran Mark Martin who has had the most fun today making Aaron’s commercials. He never dreamed he could have so much fun making a TV commercial, but the commercials are funny and he was really into it. I like seeing his reaction to the silly things that we asked him to do today. I think both those guys will revive Martin (Truex Jr.). You know, Martin is a really fun guy and he’s a guy that is very popular and won the Nationwide championship twice and made the Chase early on in his career, but he hasn’t had a whole lot to smile about lately. Now, with the cars that we’re building and the way he ended the 2011 season, we’re giving him something to smile about and we’re surrounding him with guys that like to smile and like to have fun. That will help Martin as well. Really cool driver lineup and a lot of fun feelings. I’m not making this up when I tell you all, a year ago to this day I was nervous about where we were going into 2011. I didn’t like our direction, I didn’t like the way our cars were being built, I didn’t like our philosophy on building them. You can’t change things overnight and we cracked toward a new philosophy, we cracked toward partnering closer with Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing), we worked hard at using our relationship with Toyota more effectively. If you look where we are today, it’s facts, it’s science, it’s black and white. We have partnered with Gibbs on the engines. We’re going to have the same engines that they have. We couldn’t say that a year ago. Our aerodynamics have improved to where our cars are as good as theirs, we couldn’t say that a year ago. Our driver lineup, if you just look at the numbers, we have more wins than we’ve ever had before. We have more Chase appearances than we’ve ever had before, so I love our driver lineup. Everything is pointing towards us having a banner 2012 season and I’m confident in that and I couldn’t have said that a year ago.”

Do you think the economy is starting to turn around in NASCAR? “Well, we added a team. Not many people have been able to do that. So, 5-Hour Energy came on board and we were able to go from two teams to three here at Michael Waltrip Racing. Obviously, we know how challenging things are, but NAPA and Aaron’s, Toyota — our key sponsors, our key partners — they see the value in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing, they know how big of a sport this is and they continue to support our team. But, more importantly, they continue to be a part of this sport. Adding another quality partner like 5-Hour and going into this season with a more robust lineup from the number of cars to the number of employees, the commercials we’re making — everything we’re doing is good for our sport. I agree, I think that things are heading in a really positive direction and we ended the 2011 season on an up slope in the ratings as a whole. With the new fuel injection going into 2012 and the amazing battle we had for a championship, I think that momentum will continue.”

What would be a successful 2012 season for your team? “We have to win more than a race, we can’t just win a race and finish 16th in the points. I think we have to win multiple races and we have to make the Chase. We have to be right there fighting for it at least to make it. We’ll reassess our goals weekly, see what we did wrong and see how we can do them better and look at going from Daytona to Vegas, how we can do that the most effective way possible. As a whole in general, multiple wins for our cars and hopefully in the Chase.”

 What does Clint Bowyer bring to your team? “Just enthusiasm, excitement, but the main thing that he (Clint Bowyer) brings is a track record that is very impressive. A Nationwide championship, three Chase appearances in his few years that he’s been in Cup, race wins, sponsors love him, the media love him — he’s just a guy that you’d want on your team. I think it’s important what you are when you’re not behind the wheel. Obviously, it’s more important what you are when you’re behind the wheel, that makes up for a lot of stuff, but when you have the enthusiasm and the attitude that Clint has, he’s engaging, people want to talk to him, people want to hear what he has to say. Then that helps the organization as well. I couldn’t be prouder that he elected to come drive our cars. Personally, I have this desire to give all my boys the tools they need to go win the races with. I think that Clint will find that we have done a pretty good job over the last five years building these cars to the point where he can take them into 2012 and do some special things with them.”

How has Mark Martin been with your humor? “He’s (Mark Martin) perfect. He is just enthusiastic and he’s all in. He’s, ‘What do you need me to do Michael? What are we doing?’ And, I said, ‘We’re going to make these commercials and it’s going to be a little goofy, a little silly.’ ‘No problem, I love it.’ So, today with him being here and making the commercials, he just genuinely loves the experience. I look at him as being pretty versatile while he’s really tight and proper, he’s also very willing to do whatever it takes for the sponsor and team and that’s the kind of attitude that I appreciate as an owner. That’s the way I’ve always been, whatever they want, that’s what I give them. Mark’s the same way.”

How special is it for you to continue to drive part-time? “I’m blessed. I get to run a Ferrari at Daytona. I’m going to get to race in my home state of Kentucky in a car that can win that darn race. Of course, last fall I finished top-10 at Talladega in my last race out. I’m thankful, I’m happy. I’m glad I don’t do it every week. I think that we have a better driver lineup than it would be if I was in it week in and week out. I think that the fact that I get to still race, I get to own this place, I get to still be on TV and I get to participate in NASCAR, all that is a blessing. I will take it. I will take it to any extent I can get it and right now it’s about the perfect mix for me between TV and racing over in Le Mans in Europe and then being able to get behind the wheel of a car of this caliber — it’s special.”

How far has Michael Waltrip Racing come since 2007? “We started it up and it makes me a little sad today to look back and see how naďve I was and how unprepared we were and how much ground we needed to make up in order to be able to ever contend. We missed a ton of races in ’07, we made them all ever since. We’ve been able to make races and consistently and steadily get a little bit better. But I really believe in my heart that we never have gone into a season like we’re going into ’12, we’re ready. We have a great driver lineup, we have great crew chiefs. Our cars are better. The state of Michael Waltrip Racing is very, very positive because we added a team, we’re not two teams any more — we’re three. We added people. We added a great sponsor in 5-Hour. I’m looking forward to this season.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, speaks with the media during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday in Cornelius, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

What has Scott Miller brought to Michael Waltrip Racing as competition director? “That was a huge reason that I was so comfortable coming over here. A lot of the same thought processes — a lot of the same things that I have been used to over the last several years was already implemented in Scott Miller (competition director, MWR). He was the competition director at RCR (Richard Childress Racing). A lot of the things moving forward from here, I’m on the same page because of the relationship with him. I know his mentality, his work ethic, what he expects out of others, his organization — I know the things that are taking place because I’ve lived them out the last several years as he’s been a competition director at RCR. I guess the comforting factor of coming to some place new and not really knowing much about anybody there was kind of put to bed because I know the captain of the ship is somebody that I got confidence in and have a relationship with.”

Do you feel like you are starting over in your career? “In this sport anymore, the cars are so much the same that the only real thing you’re starting over with is the group of people. Sometimes change can be good and bad. There’s no question that last year, I didn’t have the success that I expected and that I wanted. It’s not good enough. That’s the way that I look at that. When you’re thinking about making a change — it wasn’t where I wanted to be standings-wise, statistics-wise — all that isn’t what I wanted and expected out of me and racing. Maybe it was time to make a change and I’ll be able to answer that in a year or so. I really see a lot of potential here — a lot of things coming together at the right time for me to make a change and ride that wave on into the future.”

What makes you feel good about being with Michael Waltrip Racing? “You see the speed in the race cars, the people on my team, the potential. We’ve got a good group of guys. We were able to take advantage of a not-so-fortunate time in this sport — a lot of teams and organizations pulling back. We were able to go out and pick the cream of the crop so to speak and I feel like we’ve done that with our group of guys on the 5-Hour Energy car.”

What is it like working with Michael Waltrip? “It’s been fun and we’re quite a bit the same. It’s kind of weird sometimes and it becomes awkward because it’s like we’re both very outspoken and we kind of hit the same thought at about the same time on something that’s funny that comes up in your mind that somebody said. There’s an awkwardness sometimes in our conversations because we’re stepping on each other about the same thing that we were going to say. It’s been a lot of fun. There’s some history there. I called him the worst driver in NASCAR and I knew that was going to come up at some point in time and it came up the very second that I walked in the door of his office. He was like, ‘Do you still think I’m the worst driver in NASCAR?’ I was like, ‘Well, good way to break the ice.’ That’s when I told him yes, but he could be a very good owner. I hope that he is.”

What did you learn at the Daytona test session? “I’m not 100 percent sure what we learned. I’m not 100 percent sure what they (NASCAR) learned. Only time will tell. I know they did a lot of learning, but I don’t know what they’re going to use and put in place. I’ve heard a lot of things — some things that might be changed and whatever else. I don’t get caught up in that. They’re going to give you a sandbox to play in and you have to go out and make the most of it and put on a show. They’re going to do the right decisions to make it the best show possible for our fans because ultimately, that’s what we’re in this business to do. Racing has always been a great show — it’s always been thrilling to watch. The Daytona 500 has always been an incredible race — always come down to the last wire to determine who is going to be the champion of the biggest race of the year. That’s got to be a good feeling if you’re NASCAR. It doesn’t really matter what you change — somehow, some way that race always comes down to a crazy, wild finish that everybody is like, ‘Oh my God, how are we ever going to top that?’ Every year they do.”

How big of a change is joining Michael Waltrip Racing for you personally? “Obviously, I’ve been with Richard (Childress Racing) since my very first start into NASCAR so it’s a big change and it’s another chapter in my life, my career — a fresh start, a new beginning — new way to prove myself all over again. The challenge is there and it’s fun. It’s nerve-wracking all over again, I’m nervous all over again and worried about things. A lot of times, I perform my best in the early stages of my career when I didn’t know what I was doing and I was nervous about it. Usually, somehow, some way I got some of the best results I’ve ever had. I see a lot of good things, a lot of positive things and a good direction that they are headed at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing), TRD (Toyota Racing Development). There’s a lot of good things here and I think they’re all coming together at the right time. Timing in anything you do in life is so important, as it was when I got my start and my opportunity with Richard. This is a new opportunity to go out and to make things happen for myself again.”

What do you think of the current Chase format? “You can’t control what happens in that Chase. You can only put your best odds — if I’m NASCAR, you can only put your best odds of putting on a good show for your fans out there and the only way to do that is to put your best teams out there. To qualify for that Chase, you have to be the top-12 best teams out there. The Chase finally paid off and did what they expected of it and intended for it to do this year — what an incredible finish to our season that Tony (Stewart) and Carl (Edwards) had down there. How could you script a battle to a championship any better than that? It definitely made that Chase idea worth the wait and worth the effort.”

What have you learned about Brian Pattie? “I’ve learned a lot about Brian (Pattie, crew chief). I’ve learned that I’m super excited about working with Brian. I think that’s my best opportunity that I’ve ever had to work with a guy that I really, really can truly fit in with and get the most out of each other. Now it’s up to us to go out and make that happen, but from the very first time that I started talking to Brian, I just felt comfortable. I felt like the relationship was there right off the bat and can build so much more than I’ve ever had. I love Shane Wilson (RCR crew chief) to death and we’re very close, but we had a lot of differences. We just weren’t really the same person and didn’t share the same — he liked asphalt racing and I like dirt racing. Brian likes dirt racing — he speaks my language and we get along.”

MARK MARTIN, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

Mark Martin, driver of the No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota, and Michael Waltrip, owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, unveil the 2012 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday in Cornelius, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

What made you choose to come to Michael Waltrip Racing? “This was the right opportunity because it gave me a chance to run the schedule that I wanted to run and they had really great people here and great equipment. Aaron’s has been a great sponsor of NASCAR for over 10 years, so that’s really important as well. Everything was just right. I never saw it coming. It happened really quick. Took me a minute to think about it, but when I started thinking about the cars, the people, the team and Aaron’s and Toyota’s support, every piece of it was the right fit for me.”

Is it hard for you to run a part-time schedule? “I love racing and I like to race for the events — kind of old school, like (David) Pearson and Cale (Yarborough) did back in the day. Most of their careers they picked the races that they wanted to run and they raced those races and I like doing that.”

Are you enjoying Michael Waltrip’s humor? “I hope that Michael (Waltrip) can rub off on me a little bit. I am very happy right now. I’m so satisfied with the situation. I feel so incredibly lucky to have an opportunity to work with this many great people and have an organization that wants you there, and to work with Aaron’s and everyone here. Maybe he (Michael Waltrip) can teach me how to win a Daytona 500 because he’s done it twice.”

Can you and Scott Miller work together to help Michael Waltrip Racing grow as an organization? “That’s one of the really fun challenges. Challenge is what life is all about. It’s what makes you get up in the morning and it’s what drives you every inch of the way or it does me anyway. It wouldn’t be any fun if it wasn’t a challenge. They have the people here, they have the equipment, they have the sponsors, which I’m very proud to have and support, and Michael (Waltrip) has poured his heart and soul into this place. I could not do what Michael Waltrip has done and would not do it. I’ve got to give him props. You look around here and just think about the payroll every week. He’s built up quite an organization here and they want to compete week in and week out with the big boys and they’re working hard to get there.”

What are your goals at Michael Waltrip Racing? “I want to help those guys build a strong foundation so that they can be competitive week in and week out and realize their potential. I want to be their guy. I want to be the guy that no matter if I’m in their race car or not, I’m out here pulling for them and trying to make their program and their car better and they know that and they support me in the same way.”

Was this one of the first offers you received? “I was not in a hurry to do anything because I didn’t really think that there was really anything perfect out there for me. I didn’t want to race the full schedule anymore. Had I wanted to do that I would’ve re-upped with Rick Hendrick when he asked me about it and I told him he needed to go and get Kasey Kahne, and that 2011 was going to be enough for me. I just waited and waited and waited and all of a sudden out of the blue I got a text from Michael (Waltrip) and a day later we were meeting on it and it just happened really quick. It’s the right fit for me. I really feel comfortable within this organization. I’ve embraced the challenge that we have to make that next step on the performance side and feel real lucky to have the opportunity to work with Aaron’s and Toyota and everybody that supports MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing).”

How long did it take for this deal to come together? “It came together — from first text to signed contract was two weeks. And, that was a signed contract. It took probably five days to get the contract or else it really would’ve been about 10 days, but there was a drag where there was some issues with timing where the attorney’s couldn’t get to it and then there was a weekend and then we were off, so there was some lag time in getting it signed. But, we agreed and shook hands in a week from the first text (from Michael Waltrip).”

Can you describe the difference between the atmosphere at Hendrick Motorsports and Michael Waltrip Racing? “It is a different feel, but it’s a fun change. As long as I live I will cherish my opportunity to be a part of Hendrick Motorsports as well as the opportunity to help Jack Roush build his organization from scratch and my time with Jay Frye and Dale Earnhardt Incorporated as well. This is another exciting challenge and challenges are what drive me. This is going to be fun. Michael’s (Waltrip) a different guy and if I smile a little bit more than usual that won’t be a bad thing.”

Why did you decide to join Twitter? “I’m new to social media and Twitter. I hope that I will not become obsessed with it, because I have plenty on my plate already and I know a lot of people really get into that. For me, I’ve got a full plate, so something has got to slide off the edge if I add a bunch more. I’m one day in and we’ll take it as it comes. I do want to connect with my fans. I’ve been so fortunate there’s so many great fans. I think we started a count at about 10 AM and as of 6 PM I think we had six-thousand followers already and that’s pretty amazing, but of course Michael (Waltrip) put it out there to his eighty-thousand followers. It’s growing really fast and I don’t think I’ll be the king of Twitter by any means, but I will try to do a good job. When I get a chance to thank some of the fans that are so supportive, I will because I believe in reaching out and touching the people that support me so much.”

How is your relationship with Rodney Childers? “I didn’t know Rodney (Childers, crew chief) personally and I hadn’t paid that much attention. I kept my focus on other things and I think possibly the biggest surprise of the whole organization or the whole deal for me has been my pleasure with getting to know Rodney. I think he’s got it and I really hope that I’m able to produce the kind of results that he deserves because he’s so committed. It’s been a while since I’ve noticed someone that was so far in — he’s all the way in and committed with everything that he’s got and I’d like to see that pay off for him.”

Have you set expectations for yourself this year? “I do, but they are different than most people would expect. I don’t set numbers or whatever. What I really hope to accomplish this year is that everyone within this organization, especially my teammates — the drivers, the crew chiefs and the upper management — I hope that when this year is over with they’re happy, they’re glad that I was a part of their team. If they are, then I will have done well on and off the race track.”

Have you noticed a big difference in the race car between a Toyota and a Chevrolet? “Sitting in the driver seat looking out you probably don’t see much difference unless you see the Toyota decal on the dash, but hardware-wise NASCAR has the box so well defined that there’s not a huge difference in the shape of the car on the outside. The power plants are all similar and NASCAR keeps it that way. If one gets an advantage, the other manufacturers usually get a little extra bump to keep them close together. With racing as it is today, very much like it has been in the past, it’s what you do with what you have that makes a winner. It’s not what you have, but what you do with what you have.”

How concerned are you about the future of NASCAR and the possibly of having less than a 43-car field? “I had a pretty grim outlook on the situation back in the summer and feel very fortunate to have such an incredible situation fall in my lap. I’ve never seen this kind of shrinkage before because it never got so big before. Racing was more like this until the time through the late 90′s and 2007 or 2008. It was more like it is now, so it’s not alarming to me other than everyone tends to get comfortable and used to a certain way and now it’s much tougher and things have thinned out and opportunities are tougher and you have to work harder. You have to work a lot harder for less – everybody does. Everybody has to do more right now because it’s tightened down on everyone. I’m not as grim on the outlook as I was then. I believe that it’s going to hold where it is. I don’t think it’s going to get euphoric again soon, but I feel like we’ve hit our lower threshold there of where the effect of the economy — it just took a long time for NASCAR to feel what happened with the economy because there were contracts in effect that last a long time, years out, and it just took a while for that. I think that has hit its floor and will go along probably where it is for a while. I’m not worried about short fields. I could be wrong, but I see an awful lot of teams and people viewing this as opportunity. You see a lot of new stuff springing up — a lot of them won’t last, but it is an opportunity for some people that they didn’ t see before. I think that will keep us from having short fields because of all of these new upstart deals because they are saying, ‘This is my chance to get in.’ From the drivers standpoint, there’s not a lot of rides. If you don’t have sponsorship strapped to your back, you may not get a ride. It was always like that before.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

(Left to right) Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, Mark Martin, driver of the No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota, and Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, share a laugh during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday in Cornelius, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

Do you feel like you can make the Chase this year? “You have to look at some of the situations that I’ve been in — in ’08 — the team was kind of falling apart. We had some good runs and we were sitting on the cusp of making it and had a penalty, lost a bunch of points and didn’t make the Chase. In ’09 we switched teams and went to Ganassi and went to two cars, a lot of change and it was a horrible season filled with crashes, cars falling apart and just crazy things. Then I came here and it’s just taken a little more time than I expected it to. We had a performance easily last year to make the Chase. You look at our finishes, we had six finishes worse than 34th or 35th and without those we were in. I made just as many top-fives and top-10s at the start of the Chase as Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. did and he was sitting fifth or something. If you take a step back and really look at it — last year we had the performance to make it, we just didn’t do all the little things right. If you ask Michael (Waltrip, team owner) — he will tell you that we know what we did wrong and now it’s a matter of fixing it. I know what I’m capable of as a driver and I know what my team’s capable of. I know what we’re capable of here as a company and we can put fast race cars on the track, consistently. We just need to get the finishes consistently. That’s a whole different ball game. There’s a lot that goes into that. Every guy in here that touches that race car has to do a perfect job. You can’t have a bolt come loose — you can’t have a truck arm crack and a shock mount fall off. There’s so many little tiny things. I tell people all the time that it takes a million things to go right and only one to go wrong. It takes a million things to go right to win a Cup race, but one little thing goes wrong and you’re not going to win it. It takes a lot and that’s the parts that we’re working on is being consistent. If we can do that, then I have no doubt that we have the speed and the capability to challenge for wins, which we did last year. There was a few races where we had the speed to win and we threw it away so we need to do better at that. We need to be smarter, better prepared and I know what it takes to do it. We just need to do it consistently and we will work on that.”

How do you feel about your chances to win the Daytona 500? “I’m really looking forward to it — we’re not really sure of what the new rules will bring. I don’t know if we tested with the exact package that we’re going to race. At the end of the day, I think it’s going to be about hooking up with your partner and staying committed to somebody and hopefully we’ll have that worked out by that time and have a shot to put the NAPA Toyota in victory lane. It would be nice to start the year out with a win.”

How has your relationship with crew chief Chad Johnston evolved? “When you’re talking about the car and how you get better — let’s say you need two-tenths on the race track and things aren’t feeling right — he (Chad Johnston, crew chief) doesn’t say, ‘Well, are you tight or are you lose, I don’t understand.’ He goes deeper than that and pulls more out of me. He pulls more from me, he pulls information from me and he’s sitting at the computer and he understands how to take what I say and what the computer says and mesh them. That’s where we’ve really turned a corner with our engineering department, with the sims (simulation) stuff, which I feel like is one of the things that we do really, really well. He’s very good about transferring that information and putting two and two together. Integrating me with the computer and figuring out what we need to do to be faster. He’s done a good job at it. There’s been times where we’ve struggled throughout the weekend and he’s talked to me and asked the right questions and came up with the right solutions by doing that. In turn, making us run better on Sunday. That’s something that is hard to get. At the end of the day, the biggest thing for me is that I have a lot of confidence in his ability and how much he knows about race cars. I’ve never seen anyone who works as much or as hard as he does and that goes a long way too.”

How did you feel about testing with your new teammates? “I thought everything went well and obviously me and Mark (Martin) have been teammates along the way — at DEI (Dale Earnhardt Incorporated). We’ve got a bit of experience working together and I kind of know his deal and how he likes his cars and things like that. I think Mark’s going to bring a lot to the company with his experience and working with a new team and brining in some ideas and some of the feel that he’s looking for with what he has had over the last few years. The same thing with Clint (Bowyer) — we raced against each other for a championship in ’05 and he’s a great guy, fun to be around. Obviously, I think Brian Pattie (No. 15 crew chief) and his whole team that they put together — they have a great bunch of guys. Then Rodney (Childers, No. 55 crew chief) on the 55 — I think we have good team chemistry already. One of the coolest things about the testing we did — it normally takes a while with three teams getting together just to get along and trust each other and saying, ‘Okay, what do you think about this?’ Normally it’s just, ‘I will do my own thing and wait and see how this guy does it.’ It’s not like that here now. I think that’s probably one of the things that I’m most excited about this season is just the way our teams are already working together — hearing ideas, getting along, trusting each other and I think those guys are as excited to work together as we all are. We’re all excited about it. Obviously, the best I’ve felt over the seasons of being at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing). We’re pumped and ready to go.”

Source: Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

Martin Truex with Crew Chief Chad Johnston in the Garage - Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

Clint Bowyer, with the identical lap speed of 204.722 mph, was recorded the second quickest, and was followed by Marcos Ambrose (203.142 mph) who was third quickest, Aric Almirola (203.142) fourth and Mark Martin (201.748) was fifth quickest.

Rounding out the top-10 quickest were Jamie McMurray (201.378) who was sixth quickest, Juan Pablo Montoya (201.374) seventh, Jeff Gordon (196.049) eighth, Kurt Busch (196.014) ninth and AJ Allmendinger (195.818) posting the tenth quickest lap speed.

The teams will return to the track for their afternoon session which is scheduled to run from 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM (EDT).

Pos No Name                Make Best Time Best Speed

 1  56 Martin Truex Jr     Tyt  43.962    204.722
 2  15 Clint Bowyer        Tyt  43.962    204.722
 3   9 Marcos Ambrose      Frd  44.304    203.142
 4  43 Aric Almirola       Frd  44.304    203.142
 5  55 Mark Martin         Tyt  44.610    201.748
 6   1 Jamie McMurray      Chv  44.692    201.378
 7  42 Juan Pablo Montoya  Chv  44.693    201.374
 8  24 Jeff Gordon         Chv  45.907    196.049
 9  51 Kurt Busch          Chv  45.915    196.014
10  22 AJ Allmendinger     Dge  45.961    195.818
11  48 Jimmie Johnson      Chv  46.057    195.410
12  14 Tony Stewart        Chv  46.063    195.385
13  10 Danica Patrick      Chv  46.070    195.355
14  27 Paul Menard         Chv  46.072    195.346
15  18 Kyle Busch          Tyt  46.091    195.266
16  31 Jeff Burton         Chv  46.129    195.105
17  39 Ryan Newman         Chv  46.134    195.084
18  20 Joey Logano         Tyt  46.135    195.080
19  88 Dale Earnhardt Jr   Chv  46.155    194.995
20  16 Greg Biffle         Frd  46.184    194.873
21   6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr  Frd  46.192    194.839
22   5 Kasey Kahne         Chv  46.193    194.835
23  29 Kevin Harvick       Chv  46.204    194.788
24  11 Denny Hamlin        Tyt  46.209    194.767
25  78 Regan Smith         Chv  46.232    194.670
26  21 Trevor Bayne        Frd  46.292    194.418
27   2 Brad Keselowski     Dge  46.364    194.116
28  17 Matt Kenseth        Frd  46.559    193.303
29  99 Carl Edwards        Frd  46.703    192.707
30  13 Casey Mears         Frd  46.752    192.505
31  36 Dave Blaney         Chv  46.923    191.804
32  87 Joe Nemechek        Tyt  47.983    187.566

Mark Martin - Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

An Interview With:

MARK MARTIN

KERRY THARP: Good afternoon. On behalf of the France family and NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway, I want to welcome you to 2012 Preseason Thunder here at the world center of racing, Daytona International Speedway. We’ve got a busy three days for you. Appreciate everybody’s attendance. I know there’s a lot of choices and a lot of other things you could be doing, but being here at Daytona certainly means a lot to us, and we’re going to take care of you.

Without further ado, I’m going to call on our first driver that’s going to do some media for us, and that’s Mark Martin. He’s driving the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota. Mark, I just mentioned to you, you look younger than I’ve ever seen. You look rejuvenated. We’ve got 45 days until we run the 54th running of the Daytona 500. I know you’ve sniffed it, you’ve smelled it, you’ve come very, very close to winning this Harley J. Earl Trophy. What would that mean to you in your racing career to win here at Daytona?

Audio: 2012 NSCS Preseason Thunder Press Conference with Driver Mark Martin

MARK MARTIN: Not sure what it would mean. You’ve got to check with my boss, Michael Waltrip. You know, when I think about that, I have different thoughts. One of the thoughts is if it happened this year, it might be a life changer for me, and then it might not, I don’t know. Certainly it would be an incredible experience. I’m just proud to have an opportunity to be in it again or hopefully compete in it and have a great team behind me like the Aaron’s Dream Machine.

Q. Can you just talk about what it’s been like to test with these guys? You were at New Smyrna the last couple days, as well.

MARK MARTIN: Well, we really had a ball at New Smyrna. I felt like the car was really fast and drove really good. We got acquainted with each other, worked out a couple little issues, you know, that needed — we needed to go to the racetrack to see and just radio issues and some things like that. It was my first day in with the EFI on Tuesday, so sorted through some things like that.

Car was really fast. It’s going to be fun. This is going to be so much fun in so many ways. I love my race team, the guys, and I feel really, really comfortable when I walk into MWR. I feel very, very comfortable there. They’ve made me feel very comfortable.

I’m excited to be a part of the organization. There are a lot of excited people there. You know, I look forward to it.

Q. How is the fuel injection different from a driving standpoint?

MARK MARTIN: You know, it’s more the way you start the car and the way it performs in the garage and just leaving — just taking off. On the racetrack, I didn’t hardly notice any difference at all, you know, up to speed.

But it’s just a little different. They start a little different. You don’t pat the gas and squirt gas in. So that’s a little different.

But you know, from a driving standpoint, it’s going to be very little. But I really do feel like that there’s a crack in the floodgates. I think there’s a huge amount of electronics and adjustments and so much that can be done by the guys on the computer, you know, instead of all those years that I spent with Jack Roush with the carburetor apart up in the trailer. There’s the potential for lots of things, lots of things, maybe advantages, maybe problems, I don’t know. There’s a lot of things we’re going to find out as we go forward.

Q. (No microphone.)

MARK MARTIN: I think it will be — there’s more adjustment — not really, no. I think fuel mileage racing is going to be very much the same as it was. You still could lean the jets or use a smaller carburetor or many other things. You could take fuel away from the thing at slow speeds, carburetor, and you could do all those things to this and more.
So there is an opportunity for teams, really smart people with laptop computers — I think there’s an opportunity for someone to gain an edge here coming out of the gate when it’s new. There will be less opportunity to make that kind of progress when everybody gets — squeezes the last little bit out of it. But right now it’s wide open, and we’re learning something nearly every time out on the racetrack.

We had Toyota folks there with us at New Smyrna, and that was a good thing. We were able to actually do some things and improve the way the thing performed, started, ran on pit road and all those kinds of things as we went forward. The learning curve is going to be fairly steep because there’s so many adjustments.

Q. This is not the first year that you’ve run a limited schedule, not run the full season. Does it affect in any way at all your outlook going into the year, and also, do you feel better knowing that you’re not going to be running all 36? Is that kind of like a little break for you?

MARK MARTIN: Do you see this big old smile on my face? Yeah, buddy, I’m tell you, I’m thrilled. I’m back to the schedule that I ran in ’07 and ’08, and I’m really, really — I’ve had a great off-season, had the time of my life with Hendrick Motorsports and made friends for life there. But this is a new challenge from an organization standpoint, a lot of new faces, and then a lot of guys I’ve worked with before. I couldn’t believe it when I walked through the shop the first time. You can’t believe how many people I’ve worked with before that are at MWR now.

And obviously I was in a position where I got to choose the races and how many. So it’s just exactly where I want to be in life right now. I’m really excited, thrilled to have a company like Aaron’s behind us, huge supporter of NASCAR racing, and I think it’s going to be fun, the things that we’re going to do, Michael and I are going to do. I’m expecting to do a lot of smiling this year.

Q. Last year when you announced this deal, one of the things you said attracted you to it was the ability to have input into the direction of the team. I was just curious how that’s been going for you in the off-season and your thoughts on the rule changes to try and break up the two-car draft.

MARK MARTIN: You know, we’re just getting our feet under us. I never even went to the shop, MWR shop, until after Homestead. I felt like that was the right thing to do. I was still part of Hendrick Motorsports and was in there with them digging as hard as I could.

We had the holiday, after Homestead went up there and started sort of getting integrated and all, and then we had the holidays, and now we’re testing. So shooting a lot of commercials and doing a lot of things like that. I haven’t had an opportunity to get really in deep. I look forward to it. I love working with the people there, Bobby Kennedy and Scott Miller and the crew chiefs. I spent some time with all the crew chiefs there, and I think we’ve got something really strong there, and I look forward to working on it and trying to build it stronger.

Rules changes, I don’t know. We’re single car. Who knows. You’re going to have to ask me later after we do some drafting. Who knows. It’s hard to break a — when drivers find out a way to go ten miles an hour faster it’s hard to get them to stop it. That’s all I’ve got to say.

Q. As a mentor, you’ve talked about life changing, you’ve actually changed a few lives here in your mentoring over the years. When you finally do get out of the seat, do you think about opening up a racing school or something where you can extend your legacy?

MARK MARTIN: That sounds like a big job. I would rather just kind of keep it closer like one-on-one. Yes and no. To answer your question, not so much a school or anything, but I love the sport and I love helping young, deserving people. It really makes me feel good. I certainly hope to be able to use my experience to help others going forward.

Q. You’ve driven with several different manufacturers. Can you tell us the difference between the cars from a driver’s point of view?

MARK MARTIN: Well, today the way the cars are and the way the engines are, there’s less difference between them than there was back in the day, and back in the day I only drove one manufacturer for 23 years. So today there’s much less difference between all of them, and it’s more what you do with what you have than it is what manufacturer it is. It’s more what you do with the parts and pieces that you get your hands on.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

- Source: NASCAR, Press Release

Martin Truex, Jr. - Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

CORNELIUS, N.C. 

QUOTES 

Martin Truex Jr. Back On Track: “I’m ready to get back into the swing of things. Over the winter we have been working on some new things and now it’s time to test them out and see how it goes. It’s also the first time I get to work with Clint and Mark. My NAPA team hasn’t changed, but we’ve got a lot of new guys at MWR especially on the 15 team so testing down here is a good way to show everyone how we all work together and get communication going in the right direction. The track time is going to be good for all of us here at Michael Waltrip Racing.”

Focus On New Smyrna: “This will be the first time we are running the new generation of MWR chassis at a short track. There are a lot of things Chad (Johnston—crew chief) and I want to run through to see if our car’s handling remains the same or if it wants to do different things. It was a great car for us on the bigger tracks at the end of last season and it will be interesting for us to see how it works on a short track.”

On Daytona Test: “With the rule changes especially with the grill opening, we have a lot of things we want to test and try to get prepared to win the Daytona 500. It’s also important for me and Clint to get time together and draft. I believe we are going to have to switch a lot in the draft with the rule change, so we really need to be on the same page rather quickly and understand how each other thinks. It’s a good time to get a feel for how he does things and the same for him as to how I do things.”

Feelings About EFI: “So far everything has been good. We had an EFI test in Daytona on Nov. 15. We didn’t have any issues with it and every time we have run with it, there does not seem to be whole lot of difference between it and a carburetor. I don’t foresee any crazy issues and I appreciate all the hard work that everyone has put into it to make a smooth transition.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

•          Autograph Signing: Truex will participate in Thursday’s Preseason Thunder Fan Fest. For details:http://tinyurl.com/7xnseuu.

•          Truex will appear at the 2012 NASCAR Preview Presented By Sprint from 2:30 -4:30 p.m. on Jan. 21. The Preview at the Charlotte Convention Center is an all-day, behind-the-scenes pass into the world of NASCAR complete with driver autographs, Q&A sessions, team and sponsor displays and more. Fans can purchase tickets for only $10 in advance. Tickets at the door will cost $15. Doors open at 7 a.m. Click here for ticket information.

•          Check out NAPA Reserve Online. Visit napaonline.com to make shopping for an auto part easier. Order online and pick up at your favorite NAPA AUTO PARTS store.

2012 NAPA Know How Crew

Crew Chief – Chad Johnston

Car Chief – Tony Lunders

Front Changer – Eric Maycroft

Rear Changer – Lee Cunningham

Front Carrier -  Craig Curione

Rear Carrier – Adam Mosher

Jackman – Brian Chase

Gas man – Wes Evans

Spotter – Keith Barnwell

Engineer – Brandon Pope

2nd Engineer – Tyler Nelson

Tires – Russell Simpson

Shocks – Luke Cunnington

Interior – Sean Boxman

Engine Tuner – Gregg Hulls

Truck Driver – Stump Lewis

2nd Truck Driver – Cindy Lewis

Pit Coach – Greg Miller

Source: Michael Waltrip Racing, Press Release

COO of Aaron's Ken Butler (left) Michael Waltrip (right) and Mark Martin (middle)

CORNELIUS, N.C. — 

MARTIN ON THIS WEEK’S TESTS: “These tests aren’t incredibly important from the car hardware side. It’s more important for us as a new group working together to work through the areas like communication, flow, learning everyone’s names, routines and things like that. That’s really the critical part of the test. From the hardware side, we do have a number of things we want to run through at these tests, but all teams are doing those kinds of things. These tests are valuable because we want everything to be working like a smooth oiled machine by the time we get to the Daytona 500. Then, by the time we get to Phoenix, we want to be acting like we’ve been racing together for years.”

FOCUS: “The one other thing that I am going to focus on this time at Daytona, more than I did a year ago, is working on tandem drafting. We didn’t do that last year and it’s going to be even more of a challenge this year. (Crew Chief) Rodney (Childers) and I want to look toward being ahead of the curve on the two-car tandem or explore areas that will give us an advantage.” 

CREW CHIEF RODNEY CHILDERS ON TESTS: “The biggest thing is starting to build more of a relationship between Mark and the entire team. Number one, he’ll need to get to know all of his guys and number two we have two or three guys who are new to us who we need to start working with to make sure we are on the same page. New Smyrna will be fun because it’s a handling track. With Mark’s short track experience, I’m looking forward to his feedback and him pointing us in the right direction. The Daytona test will be about us working on our qualifying setup for the first day and a half and drafting the rest of the time. The most important thing is the draft, making sure our cars can do what they need to do. We’ll probably work on some cooling to see if our cars can push longer than some of the others.”

NOTES 

Mark Martin will appear at the 2012 NASCAR Preview Presented By Sprint from 9-11 a.m. on Jan. 21. The Preview at the Charlotte Convention Center is an all-day, behind-the-scenes pass into the world of NASCAR complete with driver autographs, Q&A sessions, team and sponsor displays and more. Fans can purchase tickets for only $10 in advance. Tickets at the door will cost $15. Doors open at 7 a.m. Click here for ticket information.

No. 55 Crew: 

Crew Chief – Rodney Childers

Car Chief – Steve Channing

Front Changer – Ryan Langley

Rear Changer – Shannon Myers

Front Carrier -  Chris Hall

Rear Carrier – Mark Kennerly

Jackman – Tony Cardamone

Gas man – Brian Dheel

Spotter – Jeremy Brickhouse

Engineer – Billy Scott

2nd Engineer – Scott McDougall

Tires – Kevin White

Eng. Tuner- Denny Chandler (TRD)

Shocks – Mike (Nook) McCarville

Truck Driver – Glenn Shano

2nd Truck Driver – John Murphy

Pit Coach – Greg Miller

No. 55 Driver Schedule For Upcoming Races

Feb. 18            Bud Shootout – Waltrip

Feb. 26            Daytona 500 -   Martin

Mar. 4              Phoenix – Martin

Mar. 11            Las Vegas -  Martin

Mar. 18            Bristol – TBD

Mar. 25            California – Martin

Apr. 1              Martinsville – TBD

Apr. 14            Texas – Martin

Apr. 22            Kansas – Martin

May 6             Talladega – Waltrip

May 12            Darlington – Martin

May 19            All Star Race – Martin

May 27            Charlotte – Martin

June 3             Dover – Martin

June 10           Pocono – Martin

Source: Michael Waltrip Racing, Press Release

Eddie Sharp Racing (ESR)

“I’m excited to join the team at Eddie Sharp Racing and have the chance to work with Cale Gale,” commented Jerry Baxter, crew chief of the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado. “Cale has a tremendous desire to be a good driver, the team is keyed up for a new season, and everyone at Rheem seems great—to have that kind of enthusiasm surround our entire program makes me excited to walk in the shop every day.”

After spending the last few years working with young drivers helping to guide and develop their skills, Baxter will join Eddie Sharp Racing on January 1, 2012. Baxter was most recently at Michael Waltrip Racing where he worked with up-and-coming drivers before they reached the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ranks, including David Reutimann, Scott Speed, Trevor Bayne, and Ryan Truex.

“I’m really looking forward to this season,” continued Baxter. “It’s another challenge with another young driver, and I think it will be a lot of fun. Cale is a great guy.”

“I’m very excited to have Jerry Baxter on-board for the 2012 season,” commented Eddie Sharp, team owner. “He’s a veteran crew chief and has the ability to bring a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience to our team. His enthusiasm for the job has everyone else excited for the upcoming season, and I can’t wait to see what he and Cale are able to achieve in the No. 33 Rheem Chevy Silverado.”

About Eddie Sharp Racing

Eddie Sharp Racing (TeamESR.com) is a championship winning race team housed in a 40,000 square-foot facility in Denver, N.C. After just four short years of competition within the ARCA Racing Series, the team impressively accumulated upwards of 20 race wins. 2009 was a pivotal year for ESR, as they dominated the series with six race wins, 15 top-fives and 19 top-10s en route to the series championship with driver Justin Lofton. In 2010, ESR made the transition to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In 2011, Sharp and Lofton were reunited within truck competition. In 2012, ESR will expand to three teams, with Lofton set to return to the No. 6 Chevrolet Silverado, Cale Gale set to join the team behind the wheel of the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Silverado, and a third driver to be named later.

- Eddie Sharp Racing Press Release

Clint Bowyer Named Driver of the Michael Waltrip Racing No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry for 2012

CORNELIUS, N.C. — 

CLINT BOWYER ON CREW CHIEF BRIAN PATTIE: “I had a lot of say in Brian Pattie becoming my crew chief. I talked to Brian for about the last year or so. I have a lot of confidence in him. He’s young and aggressive. I think he reminds me a lot of me. I think we’ll get along well together and it’ll be a great partnership. He’s assembling a heck of a team around me and that’s what it takes. It takes a good team. These cars that we are working with today are so even that it’s the people and the decisions that those people make that make up the difference.”

“You’ve got to be able to have some sort of common interests together other than what you do on Sundays. You’ve got to have that chemistry and that relationship with them. I think that’s so important. Having success even on Sundays is being able to communicate and have a relationship with the guy that you are going about it with.”

“I think it definitely brings some relaxation and comfort into the situation knowing that you got a good guy that you have confidence in manning the ship. We are building a new team from scratch and Brian is hiring good people. And now to get out and test this week is a big thing for us. It’s everything coming together.  I’m just looking forward to the challenges ahead. Obviously any sort of change is going to make things different and be a little bit of a challenge, and it’s now starting to sink in a little bit. It takes time for it to sink in. Even at Homestead-Miami it really didn’t sink in that I’m moving into this new ride for 2012. As I’ve had some time to think and be away, I’m starting to think about this year coming up and get excited for the next step.”

ON SCOTT MILLER: “Scott Miller (MWR competition director) coming over to Michael Waltrip Racing has helped. That’s helped my transition a bunch in moving to a new organization. I think having some people that you know and have confidence in helps a lot. I’m going to have a great team – I really am. I have 100 percent confidence in Brian – I’m super excited about working with him. I think we can have a lot of success together.”

BRIAN PATTIE ON CLINT BOWYER: “Clint’s been a good friend of mine for a long time. He’s always cutting up and having a good time with me and for all this to happen is quite humorous actually. But we have similar backgrounds in that we both grew up dirt racing and have a lot in common. I’m going to go up and take a look at Clint’s dirt shop here soon just because that’s what I do – I build dirt cars. He has a dirt team. The similarities are endless. That’s why I’m so excited to get somewhere and get going. I want to prove my worth, build a team and make the Chase with Clint driving – it’s going to be so much fun.” 

NOTES

• Starting in 2012: Michael Waltrip Racing is fielding three full-time entries in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the first time since 2007. Martin Truex Jr. will pilot the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota, Mark Martin and Michael Waltrip will share duties in the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine and Clint Bowyer is behind the wheel of the No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota.

• Walt Disney World Speedway is a one mile tri-oval that hosted NASCAR truck races in 1997 and 1998 as well as five IndyCar races and now serves as a home to driving schools.

Michael Waltrip Racing Logo

Veteran Crew Chief To Lead Clint Bowyer’s No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota In 2012

CORNELIUS, N.C. – Michael Waltrip Racing today announced that Brian Pattie will serve as crew chief for Clint Bowyer’s No.15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series beginning in 2012.

“Brian is someone whose been on our radar for a very long time,” said Waltrip. “He brings a strong technical background, along with great leadership and Chase experience. We have high hopes for Brian, Clint and the 5-hour ENERGY team heading into 2012 and we think this is the perfect mix of talent, experience and leadership.”

Pattie joins the team after 18 victories in a long Nationwide Series career with a variety of drivers and a Sprint Cup stint at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing as crew chief for Juan Pablo Montoya. He guided the former open wheel driver to a spot in the Chase in 2009 and a victory at Watkins Glen in 2010.

“Michael Waltrip Racing is an up-and-coming team making improvements every day,” said Pattie, a Zephyrhills Fla. native who began his duties at MWR on Dec. 1.

“I know how close it is to joining the upper echelon of the Sprint Cup Series. When I started talking with Michael about opportunities at MWR I really did my research and was impressed by their commitment to getting to the top of the sport. I feel like this is a great opportunity to join a new team with a new driver and start building something special. Clint’s proven how good he is and I know that will get even better in 2012.”

Bowyer said the key to any good driver-crew chief relationship is communication. He and Pattie already have a head start in that area.

“I’ve known Brian Pattie for a long time and the thing that impresses me the most is how he calls a race and his knowledge of racecars,” said Bowyer. “We both grew up working on dirt cars and have pretty similar backgrounds. We understand each other and I think we speak the same language. I know once we get together and start working we’re going to see great results.”

MWR fields Toyota Camrys in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Mark Martin and Michael Waltrip.

Mark Martin and Michael Waltrip’s Toyota Camrys will carry the number 55 during the 2012 and 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series seasons.

Number Commemorates Aaron’s Founding in 1955

CORNELIUS, N.C. – Michael Waltrip Racing announced today that Mark Martin and Michael Waltrip’s Toyota Camrys will carry the number 55 during the 2012 and 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series seasons.

The number commemorates Charlie Loudermilk’s founding of Aaron’s, Inc. in 1955.

Aaron’s, Inc., the nation’s leader in the sales and lease ownership of residential furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories, grew from 400 to more than 1,900 stores since its initial race sponsorship of MWR in 2000.

“This is a new era for the Aaron’s Dream Machine,” said Aaron’s Chief Operating Officer Ken Butler. “Our new driver lineup with Mark and Michael created a good opportunity for us to make more changes, including the car number. Every one of our employees knows the significance of the number 55 in our company, and I know they will have pride watching that number compete on Sundays while flying our colors.”

Martin will drive in 25 Sprint Cup events each of the next two seasons, sharing the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine with Waltrip who will drive seven events with Aaron’s sponsorship. Martin will join Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. in the MWR stable of drivers.

Martin will begin his tenure with MWR at the 2012 Daytona 500. Waltrip will run the remaining restrictor plate races plus the race in his home state of Kentucky. MWR plans to run a combination of drivers and sponsor partners to fill the remaining races when Martin and Waltrip are not behind the wheel.

“I love it, a new team, a new car and a new number,” said Martin. “The car number means a lot to the driver. We talked about a lot of different number options, but the number 55 means a lot to Aaron’s and to Michael, so I am proud to drive it.”

Waltrip raced the No. 55 at Bill Davis Racing in 2006 and 2007-2009, the first three years of MWR’s existence.

“This means a lot to me,” said Waltrip. “I know how far MWR has come since we started with the No. 55 NAPA Toyota and how much we’ve grown heading into 2012. To get back into the No. 55 Toyota in 2012 and share driving duties with a first ballot hall of famer in Mark Martin is certainly an honor.”

Aaron’s relationship with MWR began in 2000 when the Atlanta-based company sponsored six races for Waltrip’s Nationwide team. The relationship grew from a partial Nationwide program to one of the most recognizable Cup partnerships in the sport with aggressive activation and extensive usage of Waltrip and MWR in television and radio commercials.

About Aaron’s, Inc.

Aaron’s, Inc. (NYSE: AAN), the nation’s leader in the sales and lease ownership and specialty retailing of residential furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories, has more than 1,900 Company-operated and franchised stores in 48 states and Canada. Founded in 1955 by entrepreneur R. Charles Loudermilk, Sr. and headquartered in Atlanta, Aaron’s has been publicly traded since 1982. For more information, visit http://www.aarons.com/.

- Michael Waltrip Racing, Press Release

Toyota Motorsports Logo

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position: 2nd

How was your qualifying lap? “It’s been a good day for the NAPA Toyota so far. We’ve been happy with the car all day. We had a lot of speed in race trim and it was a good qualifying lap for us. The guys made good adjustments from practice and the track picked up grip. Obviously the speeds were up quite a bit from practice so it was a good lap. I wish that Carl (Edwards) hadn’t of beat us, but it seems like he wins everything anymore. I’m happy to be in here today. I feel like we kind of let one slip away here last year in the race. Led a bunch of laps and got a flat tire late so hopefully we can make up for that tomorrow and close the deal. It would be great to end the season on a high note and get this thing in victory lane.”

How much has your team improved over the last few weeks? “I think our team has done a nice job all year as far as bringing fast race cars to the race track. There’s been some other things that we’ve missed on — part failures and making mistakes and things that’s really hurt us in the points. But, we’ve had fast cars all year long. For us this season, it’s been a lot of what could’ve been or what might have been. Going into the offseason I feel like we know our strengths and our weaknesses and what we need to work on to be better. But, as far as the group of guys I have and the cars that we’ve been bringing to the race track, we’ve made huge strides especially at the end of the season here with the mile-and-a-half type tracks where we struggled through the mid part of the season quite a bit. We made huge gains there so we’re excited going into the offseason of what we need to work on and come out of the box strong next year. For us, we just need consistency. We’ve got the speed, we’ve got the team to do it and we’ve got great guys that go over the wall and pit the car. We just need to be smarter, race smarter and make less mistakes next year.”

How much has the grip on the race track changed? “The track just had a little bit more grip than what it had this morning. Anytime we run the single-car runs it’s easy to pick up some of that rubber that’s been sitting there getting hot. We listened to some guys earlier saying the track had more grip and we went with that and luckily it worked out good for us.”

What was your strategy for your qualifying lap? “I couldn’t figure out which groove to run. I ran some in practice up high and I was fast up there and I ran some down low and I was fast there so I said, ‘Heck with them, I’m going to run the middle.’ And it worked out. Our NAPA Toyota has been really fast all day long. I love coming here to Homestead. It’s a great track and I feel like we let one slip away here last year so hopefully we can get that win tomorrow.”

Do you have a favorite for tomorrow’s championship? “There’s no telling. Four hundred miles anything can happen. Those two guys are some of the best out there and obviously they proved that. That’s why they’re in that position and I just hope that I get to race with those guys for the win because I’m sure they will be upfront come the end of the day.”

KASEY KAHNE, No. 4 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position: 3rd

How was your qualifying lap? “I felt really good. My Red Bull Toyota stuck really well. I felt like I waited on the front end a little bit getting into (turn) one — maybe a little too long — and then again in (turn) three. Wasted a little bit of time, but either way Carl (Edwards) ran a great lap. A really fast lap. And Martin (Truex Jr.) beat us too. It was still a good run for our guys. Each week they’ve been giving me awesome race cars and it’s been a lot of fun driving them lately.”

Are you happy with your season? “It’s been a really awesome year for myself. This time last year I was kind of making that move to Red Bull and prior to that I was wanting to make that move and ready for a change and ready to work with some new people and a little bit of excitement again. I’ve had that all season long. I feel great about where we’re at right now and how much we’ve gained as a team throughout the season and how strong our cars are, which everybody is a big part of that. And now it’s about over. We qualified third today and have a great car for tomorrow and then it will be another change. So, it’s been a great season. A lot of fun to work with everybody and they’ve given all of us a great opportunity. I wish it was halfway through. I wish the season was 50 percent of the way through and we had a lot more to go this year because I feel like right now is by far the best that I’ve been as a Cup driver and that we’ve had as a team. Everything put together, I think this has been our strongest time ever. It’s about over and hopefully we can finish strong tomorrow and do the best we can and maybe get another win. That would be a great way to end.”

Do you have a favorite for tomorrow’s championship? “I don’t know on the points race. It’s going to be exciting. Carl (Edwards) has probably been the best so far this weekend if you look at where he’s at. I think Tony (Stewart) ran a lot more — longer runs and things. Carl is starting on the pole. Carl was great here last year. He started second and won the race so it will be interesting. I think it’s going to be a good duel.”

What does it say about your team to run so well to close out the season? “I’ve been running really good. The whole Red Bull team has done a great job. It’s been a lot of fun these last 10 to 12 races — it’s been awesome. So, we’re just trying to finish strong tomorrow. We qualified good today. I just wish we could’ve got that pole. We were really close. The balance in the car was great there. Just barely missed it. We’ve had a really solid effort here in the last couple of months.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 10th

Are you pleased with your qualifying lap? “That was a pretty decent qualifying run for us. We usually qualify in the 30s here. It looks like we’ll be somewhere in the top-10 to 12 — a step up. We just struggled for speed all day long. We just couldn’t figure out where to find it — where to get it. Mike (Ford, crew chief) made some good adjustments right there with qualifying.”

Any benefit to running three races this weekend? “You learn some stuff, for sure. It helps you get up to speed a little bit faster. At least it does for me. Even though it’s a lot of work — it does help in certain ways.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 19th

How was your qualifying lap? “Our Interstate Batteries Camry wasn’t bad. Our balance was pretty good but just needed a little more speed in qualifying. I was happy with our car in race trim this morning, so I think we can race them with what we worked on in race trim.”

BRIAN VICKERS, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position: 24th

Are you happy with your race car? “No. I’d like for the qualifying to be better. I’m pretty happy with the race car. Qualifying trim we weren’t as good as we needed to be. I just kind of lost the nose in the center and just kind of washed out a little bit. I’m not really happy with where my line is. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here — it’s been a couple years. I think the track has changed a good bit since the last time I was here. It’s been two years. So, I think it’s changed a decent amount — so still got to figure that out. In race trim, I think we’re pretty good. In qualifying we were a little off.”

Did you meet with NASCAR and Matt Kenseth? “Yeah. We did meet with NASCAR and it was a good conversation. It was good to air out everything. I think it was good for everybody to hear both sides of the story. NASCAR gave their perspective of how things transpired. Matt (Kenseth) gave his and I gave mine. I think that once Matt understood my perspective and I understood some of his — then I think now we’re more on the same page. When he first was describing kind of his perspective — I think there was a lot of information he didn’t have about like when I was underneath him at Martinsville. You know, we rubbed fenders a few times. I think that’s pretty common for Martinsville. I don’t think we were the first two guys to touch at Martinsville Speedway. I know I raced him clean, I raced him as clean as I was probably racing anybody that day. The only time I really got into him was when the 14 (Tony Stewart) hit me in the middle of the corner — you know was bumping me in the middle of the corner. I think that was a perspective that Matt didn’t really have. He didn’t know that. Even if that wasn’t the case, I still think him just dumping us at Martinsville — just flat pushed me up in the corner until I hit the wall — was a bit of an overstep.”

DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position: 28th

COLE WHITT, No. 84 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position: 29th

Were you pleased with your qualifying lap? “Yeah. Just happy to be in (the race). That’s what we come down here to do — get in the race. First thing first. It’s pretty amazing for me. It’s a big step. So, I’m just glad we could come out and do this.”

Do you have any goals for Sunday’s race? “Seat time is definitely crucial. We’re not going to be as tame as we were in Phoenix. In Phoenix, we held back a lot. Here, now that we’re in the race, we’ll try and race for anything we can get. See what we can do.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 32nd

How was your qualifying lap? “There was no grip out there. We just haven’t had enough speed in our cars. Still got to figure something out here. We’re not very fast in race trim or qualifying trim right now. So, we have to figure something out.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 66 HP Racing, LLC Toyota Camry, HP Racing Starting Position: 33rd

BOBBY LABONTE, No. 47 Reese Towpower Project Toyota Camry, JTG-Daugherty Racing Starting Position: 35th

How was your qualifying lap? “It was okay. A little too free to come to the free and then we still struggled with something there. It was a little bit too free to come to the green and after that it was alright. Nothing special. It seemed like our car was balanced pretty good in race trim, just needed to have a little bit more grip on the front end. Other than that it wasn’t bad in race trim. It’s been a pretty calm day.”

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Camry, NEMCO Motorsports Starting Position: 37th

CASEY MEARS, No. 13 Hard Rock Vodka Toyota Camry, Germain Racing Starting Position: 39th

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

Ryan Truex - Photo Credit: John Harrelson / Getty Images for NASCAR

After the Wypall 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, Truex leads with 188 points. Blake Koch and Timmy Hill are tied with 185 points. Jennifer Jo Cobb is in fourth place in the standings with 149 points.

Koch and Hill will compete this weekend in the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Truex will not race this weekend, but this does not knock him out of ROY contention.

Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates in the NASCAR Nationwide Series are awarded points based only on his or her best 16 events.

· Attempting to qualify for a race earns the rookies one (1) bonus point.

· A 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 point system is used for scoring finishing positions. The highest-finishing rookie in each race earns ten (10) points, the 2nd-highest: nine (9) points, etc.

· Bonus points are awarded for a finish in the top-10. A rookie who wins is awarded ten (10) points, 2nd place: nine (9) points, etc. A 10th place finish gets one (1) bonus point.

· The Sunoco Rookie of the Year panel will meet during the final weekend of the season to rate each driver on a scale of ten (10) to one (1) based on favorable conduct in the following categories: conduct with NASCAR officials, conduct and awareness on track, personal appearances and relationship with the media.

Truex has only raced 17 of the 34 events, meaning all but one of his race finishes must be used. Koch and Hill have raced in 32 and 33 races, respectively. In order to overtake the lead from Truex on the competition side of the points race, Koch and Hill would need to earn bonus points by finishing inside the top-10 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. A final decision for the panel bonus points will be announced after the race.

About Ryan Truex

Ryan Truex came up through the NASCAR ranks with flair, winning back-to-back K&N Pro Series East Championships in 2009 and 2010. The 2009 campaign also earned him the Rookie of the Year honors and gave Michael Waltrip Racing its first NASCAR championship. Truex became only the second driver in series history to win both honors in the same year, after only Joey Logano. In 2011, NASCAR honored Truex as one of the “Top 10 Drivers of the First 25 Years of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East;” he was the youngest racer to make the list.

Ryan spent the first half of the 2011 Nationwide Series season in the No. 99 car for Pastrana-Waltrip Racing, earning at least a top-20 finish in eight of the ten races. He jumped at the chance to race the No. 20 car for the Joe Gibbs Racing stable starting in Sept. 2011. He finished in the top-15 in all six of his races with the new team, including four top-10s. He won the Sunoco Rookie of the Race Award for all six races, and is on pace to be the NASCAR Nationwide Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year.

- MTJ Motorsports Press Release

2011 NSCS Martin Truex - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

CORNELIUS, N.C.

QUOTES

Martin Truex Jr. on His Sprint Cup Series Championship Pick: “It’s anybody’s race. Based on prior seasons I would have to go with Carl (Edwards) just because of the way he ran there last year. He was really strong so I’d have to give him the edge. But the way Tony Stewart has been running, I mean, his team has been stellar so it’s going to come right down to the end. I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

On Racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway: “I know it’s all about the Chase this weekend, but for me, my season isn’t over because I’m not in it. I still have a job to do and that’s to get the NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota into victory lane or finish as strong as I can. I truly believe we can be a threat this weekend. I get kind of tired of saying a win is right around the corner because we’ve been close several times this season. But I really do feel good about going down to Homestead. I was fortunate enough to have a really fast car last year and led a bunch of that race. Carl (Edwards) was right there. It was me and him battling for the first 300 miles. We got a flat tire and he ended up winning. Now it’s time for us to get it done and I hope I’ll be racing Carl again for the win. We’re taking our Texas car with us. It’s the new MWR chassis. The MWR guys have been working on some new things so I hope it all works out.”

On Contending for the Chase in 2012? “I believe we can. We’ve worked very, very hard. Everybody at MWR has worked very hard on this NAPA Toyota. We’ve had a lot of speed this season, we’ve just beaten ourselves a little bit here and there. We’ve also had a lot of tough luck. If we can correct those things, I believe we have the speed, the people and the equipment to do it.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

· Sunday marks Truex’s 225th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start.

· Truex scored the fifth most points of any driver in the last five Homestead races.

· Scott Miller, MWR’s executive vice president of competition, will serve as No. 56 crew chief this weekend.

· Autograph Signing: Truex will sign autographs on Saturday at the MWR souvenir rig from 12:30 to 1 p.m. at the Homestead-Miami Speedway midway.

· Check out NAPA Reserve Online. Visit napaonline.com to make shopping for an auto part easier. Order online and pick up at your favorite NAPA AUTO PARTS store.

- Michael Waltrip Racing, Press Release

David Reutimann - Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

CORNELIUS, N.C.

Reutimann hosts his Seventh Annual Charity Golf Tournament, Cook Out and Auction on Dec. 9 & 10 at Silverado Golf and Country Club in Zephyrhills, Florida. Friday’s cookout and auction precedes Saturday morning’s golf tournament.

He and his father Emil “Buzzie” Reutimann will also raise money by racing their dirt modified cars in the “Bubba is Thankful Weekend” Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla. on Nov. 26 and the David Reutimann Foundation 50 at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa on Dec. 10.

Proceeds from all the above activities go to a variety of Florida-based charities including All-Children’s Hospital and Camp Boggy Creek. In 2010, the David Reutimann Foundation raised more than $83,000.

REUTIMANN QUOTES

ON THE DAVID REUTIMANN FOUNDATION GOLF OUTING AND COOKOUT: “I’m really looking forward to it. We’ve had a lot of great times at that event over the years. We have a ton of people come out and spend time with us and help raise money for a lot of great causes. The charity auction each year has some one-of-a-kind items every year from NASCAR as well as a lot of other sports and entertainment personalities. Plus, the golf outing is just a lot of fun – some of the guys are pretty competitive, but others – like me, we don’t take ourselves too seriously and are just out there to have a great time with friends. In fact, I’m probably the only guy around that doesn’t golf in his own tournament – I just ride around on the golf car to mark sure everyone else is having a good time.”

The thing I enjoy most of all is going down to East Bay Raceway on Saturday after the event and getting a chance to run my modified car in the 50-lap race they have down there. I know it sounds a little odd that we spend almost 40 weeks of the year racing in the Sprint Cup Series, and you’d think we’d want a bit of a break, but for me to race my modified down there is really something special. It takes me back to where I came from on the dirt tracks. The funny thing is, when I was racing dirt tracks all over the Southeast growing up all I wanted to do was go race in NASCAR on the big tracks – now any chance I get I try to find my way back to the dirt tracks. Sometimes life it funny that way.”

 ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• Chassis Chatter: The No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine is racing chassis No. 708 this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. No. 708 debuted at Texas Motor Speedway on Nov. 6th with a 22nd place finish. Reutimann qualified sixth but was forced to start from the rear due to an engine change following final practice. Chassis No. 651 will serve as the backup.

• Autograph Signing: Reutimann will sign autographs at the MWR merchandise hauler on Sunday from 11:20-11:45 a.m.

• Starting in 2012: Michael Waltrip Racing announced last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway that Mark Martin will take over the driving duties of the No. 00 for 25 races and Michael Waltrip will drive for five races next season. The No. 00 will compete in all events, but a driver and sponsor have not been announced for the remaining races.

Toyota Motorsports Logo

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

What have you learned so far from this morning’s test session at Daytona? “Well, first of all, I know the off -season’s get shorter every year, but dang I’m working on 2012 already. It’s kind of crazy. I’m not sure exactly what NASCAR’s goal is — I don’t think any of us — they haven’t really said, ‘Here’s what we’re trying to do.’ We’re going out there and trying different packages and it feels like what they’re trying to do is put an end to this two-car draft or at least make it so we can only get together for a lap or two and have to switch or run in a pack. So far we’ve been taking the spoiler off, taking the rear spring out of the car trying to get them to be a little bit more slick, get through the air better and run faster and trying to make so they are uncomfortable getting pushed. So far we haven’t been able to get there. We’ve picked up a second and a half from what we raced here in the summertime. It seems that the faster we go, the better they drive. I think where we need to go is making the radiator smaller so we overheat faster. So far, we’re trying some things and we’ve got some smaller spoilers to go yet and less rear springs to try to get the back of the car out of the air more and try to free it up some. I believe we’re going to try a bigger plate in the qualifying run here in a little bit, too. That will be fun to go faster around here than I ever have so I’m looking forward to that. Other than that, that’s about it. Just going through some packages — standard issue and like I said, so far everything has drove good and that’s a testament to the pavement and the grip here at Daytona. Honestly, I feel like we could run 230 miles an hour here and have the car stick and still be able to run wide open, so it’s pretty cool.”

How fine of a line is there to finding out you can’t drive the car anymore without wrecking your race car? “There’s a fine line there because what we’re doing today with the tandem, it’s like what we’ll do with the tandem in the race, but there’s not 35 other cars around. When you’re in a two -car pack and you’re catching a pack of six cars, the cars drive different than they do with us being out here today with just two cars on the race track. So, there’s a little bit there still where we don’t know exactly how these changes are going to affect the cars until we actually get out there in race conditions. That’s something we talk about every week with these cars. They’re so aero-dependent and when you get in, the race the car changes just because there’s more cars on the race track. And, it’s something you can’t test for. The only way to prepare for it is really experience and kind of educated guesses. So far, it feels like we could go a lot faster and still be comfortable, but again that could change with more cars on the race track and less air on the front of the car as opposed to getting all of the air off the back of the car.”

Did you like tandem racing or would you rather see it go away? “I don’t know. Honestly, I like both ways. I like the old way. The tandem is fun at times. The only thing I don’t like about it is having to rely on somebody. You talk about Cup racing and we’re all kind of racing against each other — our team against their team — and when you get in these plate races now with the tandem deal, if you don’t have a partner that’s committed to you and you being committed to somebody else, your chances of finishing upfront or even a chance to win is out the window. So, you have to have a different mindset going in because of that. And, so because of that, I think that’s probably a part I don’t like about it. I do enjoy getting pushed around and threading the needle and passing guys at 10 miles an hour faster than they’re going. That kind of thing is fun. The racing part of it is kind of fun. I think watching the races, I feel like the old style racing was a little bit more exciting with the 43 car pack shucking and jiving and making moves. I feel like that’s more exciting to watch and as a driver I feel like it’s harder to do that. It’s harder to win at that because there’s a lot more strategy involved in putting yourself in different positions. Where now you get behind somebody and push them as hard as you can and hope you end up at the front or you hope the guy pushing you pushes you to the front. There’s a bit more luck involved now than maybe it was before.”

Are you confident NASCAR can fix the restrictor plate racing? “Yeah, there’s no doubt they’ll figure it out and I think what they’re trying to figure out is how they want to get to the end result. I think they know what they want and if they know what they want, they’ll figure out how to get it. They’re smart enough to know how these cars work. So, I think right now it’s just a matter of going through a few steps to see if the changes that they’re thinking of doing will do exactly what they think they will. I think so far, as far as the speed pickup per change, I feel like they’re right on tra ck of what they thought it would be. At least that’s what it sounds like from talking to them. So, yeah, I feel like they have a good idea of where they want to be and before you know it we’ll all find out that they knew before we got here today probably where we were going to end up. It’s just a matter of them backing up their thoughts and their plans. I think we’ll be in good shape. It’s just up to them what they want to see.”

Can you tell a big difference with the electronic fuel injection in the cars? “To be honest with you, if you didn’t know when you got in the car , you couldn’t tell a difference. The only thing that’s different is the way it starts. You don’t have to pump the gas like a normal carburetor. You just flip the switch and crank it up like a street car. That’s the biggest difference I’ve noticed. Now, we had some growing pains with it being a new system back earlier in the testing where we had some issues. The same kind of issues you deal with — a carburetor stubbles, running bad in the pits, flooding turning to the right and things like that. For the most part all of that stuff has worked out and it’s really no different than the carburetor. Along the lines of fuel mileage and things like that I’m not exactly sure where that all is right now. All of the guys at TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and Toyota have done a good job getting the system figured out and implementing all of the new changes and things. It’s something I think they are constantly working on and still working on. I know they have some new stuff on the car today. As far as being behind the wheel, it’s really not a big difference.”

Have you had any hairy moments on the track with the smaller spoiler? “No. So far, like I said, everything has been stable. I honestly feel like the faster it goes the more stable it is in the corner. What happens here is the track has so much grip and so much banking that you don’t have to put a lot of wheel in the car and so the tires, you don’t really have a lot of load against the tires and it’s almost like the tire tries to turn — move around on the wheel a little bit because you’re not constantly loading in enough to keep it turned one way. And, the faster you go the more lateral load it puts in the tires and it kind of stabilizes the car. It actually feels better the faster we go, so far. I’m sure there will be a point where it doesn’t feel better anymore. I’m not sure where that is yet. Maybe we will find that out here this afternoon. We’ve got a few more steps to go with speed so we’ll see what happens there.”

How much negative feedback have you had from your fan base regarding the two-car tandem racing? “Honestly, I think it’s kind of been split. I think half of the people really like it and half of them like the old style better. I thought that the racing has been good like I said, I do think the old style is a little bit better to watch but again if the fans want it to be the old way NASCAR is going to figure out how to make it the old way. That’s why we’re here. But, I think it’s kind of been split decision. I think a lot of people enjoy the new way and a lot of people liked it the old way better.”

Did you volunteer to test here today or were you asked? “I just do what I’m told. I follow directions, I do what I’m told and — honestly, I was asked to do it and obviously it’s part of my job to do. I’m not going to say I hate it and I came here to change it. At the end of the day, it’s NASCAR’s decision. It doesn’t matter what we think about it to some degree. I’m just here to help them get the data they need and give them the feedback to the best of my ability of what I’m feeling in the car and what the changes are doing and they’ll make their decisions based on that.”

Do you have any ideas you would try to eliminate the two-car tandem racing? “In my opinion, there’s only two ways to get rid of the two-car draft. One is to take the bumper off the back of the car so you can’t push it or two, make it so you can’t push because you overheat too fast. Those are the best two options. Making the cars uncomfortable is not the best way to go because I feel like with the repave here and the repave at Talladega we’re going to be going upwards of 220 miles an hour to make them get uncomfortable and then of course we all know what happens — cars get off the ground and that’s a bad thing. So, keeping us from being able to push is the only option. Making us fast and uncomfortable is not an option because it’s not going to be — the speeds will be too high when that point comes. Small radiators which I know they know. They’re talking about it, they understand that. I think it’s just a matter of them going through the season, seeing the two-car tango as its called and seeing do the fans really not like it? If they don’t like it then we’ll get rid of it and I think that’s what we’re seeing now is steps to try to figure out where exactly we stand and how we’re going to eliminate it and if we’re going to eliminate it.”

Who is your pick for the Sprint Cup Series championship at Homestead? “Boy, I don’t know. It’s anybody’s race. Based on prior seasons I would have to go with Carl (Edwards) just because of the way he ran there last year. I was fortunate enough to have a really fast car there last year and lead a bunch that race and Carl was right there. It was me and him battling for the first 300 miles. We got a flat tire and he ended up winning. He was really strong. Based on that, I’d have to give him the edge, but the way the 14 (Tony Stewart) has been running, I mean, they’ve been stellar. I’d say it’s going to come right down to the end and I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

Are you a threat to win this weekend at Homestead? “I think we are. I truly believe that. I get kind of tired of saying a win is right around the corner because we’ve been close. We’ve had some points in the season where we’ve been close and had cars capable of winning. I feel good going down there after the run we had there last year. We took a brand new car to Texas that we’ve been really working on for a good part of this season, the last few months building a new chassis with some new stuff. We took it to Texas and I was really happy with it. It was one of the better mile-and-a-half cars that we’ve had all year long so I feel like we’ve made some strides there. It would sure be nice to end the season on a high note so we’re taking that car there. Homestead has been a good track for me. I’ve run upfront and finished second there a few times and I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully we can get to victory lane before the year is over.”

Are you looking forward to working with Mark Martin next season? “Well, I’ve worked with him before so it won’t be anything new. I know Mark (Martin) very well. I have a lot of respect for him and what he’s accomplished obviously. He’s definitely been paying more attention to us the last few weeks. We’ve been talking more about our cars, this and that about how we’re running and things we need to look at, things we’re good at and things we’re bad at. He’s definitely been paying more attention. Once we get the season over with I’m sure hopefully he’ll spend a little bit more time around the shop and we’ll kind of get to talk about things and see what his thoughts are and everything. Yeah, looking forward to it and looking forward to him and Clint (Bowyer) coming over and hopefully come out of the box strong next year and have a good season. I do need to add, I say this every time a question comes up, is the deal with David (Reutimann) I feel terrible for him. He’s become a really, really good friend of mine and I have a lot of respect for him as a driver and as a person. I hate to see him go. He’s been an awesome teammate for me and like I said we’ve become good friends so I hate to see him go and I hope he finds something good for next year.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What have you learned so far from today’s test session at Daytona? “We learned that when you take a spoiler out of a race car at Daytona it makes the car go faster. We were going 206 or 207 or so. We’ve been doing that, taking the rear spring out of the car and just taking downforce away from these things. Trying to get away from that two-car draft. We’re slowly getting away from the two-car draft, making it harder to do it. I guess we’ve made gains today because that’s what NASCAR is looking for.”

Have you noticed a difference with the new electronic fuel injection in the race car? “No, we can’t really tell much at all, but that’s a good thing.”

Do you like the two-car tandem racing or would you like to see NASCAR go back to pack racing? “I think either way is about the same. We’re out there racing each other either way just two different ways of doing it. I think the fans liked it more the other way I guess so that’s why we’re here changing it back. It’s going to be hard for us to get away from it now. I think everyone has learned so much and got so good at it and then realized how much faster it is — it’s going to be like this for a while now.”

What do you personally think NASCAR needs to change to get away from the two-car drafting? “Try some of the things that we’re doing now. Maybe move the grill up a little bit so you’re getting no air when you’re pushing and you could only push for a straightaway or something like that. It would need to be a good combination.”

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release