The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour was held January 23rd at MWR facilities which included the unveiling of the Aarons #55 and a QA session with Michael Waltrip & Mark Martin. Below are a few excerpts what each had to say.
MARK MARTIN, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
How does it feel to be with Michael Waltrip Racing this year? “It’s fun. I really do feel comfortable at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing). Everybody here has made me feel great. We’ve Got a lot of great sponsors here, teammates, crew chiefs and I saw a lot of faces here that I’ve worked with before at other places, so I think it’s going to be really fun.”
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 500because he’s done it twice.”
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 deserve 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 themwon’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.”
MICHAEL WALTRIP, owner and driver, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Do you feel it’s important to have drivers that mesh well with your personality? “We are happy to 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.”
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.
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 arewe doing?’ And, I said, ‘We’re going to make these commercials and it’s going to be a little goofy, a little silly.’ ‘Noproblem, 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.”
