Martin Truex Jr.: Too many questions at Earnhardt Ganassi for him to stay
Martin Truex Jr. (left) is welcomed by members of Michael Waltrip Racing Tuesday after announcing he will join the organization's NASCAR Sprint Cup program in 2010. // Sam Cranston, NASCAR Scene
CORNELIUS, N.C. – Questions about the potential of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing were key to the decision by Martin Truex Jr. to cut his ties with what had been Dale Earnhardt Inc. and move to Michael Waltrip Racing beginning in 2010.
Truex, who won two championships in what is now the Nationwide Series with Chance 2 Motorsports (a division of Dale Earnhardt Inc.) and then became a full-time Cup driver for DEI in 2006, said he believed the future of Michael Waltrip Racing was much more solid than that of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, the result of a merger between DEI and Chip Ganassi Racing after last season.
“For me, there was a lot less in question [at MWR],” said Truex, who won one race and made the Chase with DEI in 2007. “They were able to answer more questions. It was easier to see where they were heading. The picture was just a lot more clear for me. … It’s solid.
“There is not a lot in question here. They have all their ducks in a row. They know what they’re doing. They know where they’re headed. That’s comfortable for me. I feel like their cars on the race track are running great, and we’re just really starting to see what they’re capable of on the track.”
While trying to make the decision, Truex said he would get a text message from MWR general manager Ty Norris every time an MWR driver would beat Truex on the track. Truex would respond the same way if he beat MWR.
Norris said the margin at one time was 6-2. While it might have made sense then for Truex to go to MWR, Norris said there is no doubt that Truex was the top free-agent driver available.
“Martin’s loyalty has kept him where he currently sits for a couple of years too long,” said Norris, a former DEI executive. “That is an organization that has been in flux every year that he has been driving for them in Cup. In 2007, when he made the Chase, the whole season was about Dale [Earnhardt] Jr. leaving. In 2008, it was about the merger with Ginn [from 2007], and this year it was the merger with Ganassi.
“They’ve moved three times, and I just think it has been in transition. … I don’t think the stability to be able to compete against the Hendricks and the Roushes and the Gibbses has been there because it has been something different for six months, and fortunately for him, we offered him a safe haven. He tried to play it out and work it out, but I think it’s unfair to judge him over the last couple of years.”
This season, Truex is 24th in points, while EGR teammate Juan Pablo Montoya is 11th .
“I am running with Montoya, but I’m not finishing [with him],” Truex said. “It’s not necessarily that I’m not happy with the performance over there or they’re not doing the things or making good cars because we’ve had good cars and run well. … I know what I can do. People out there know what I can do.
“People in this sport know what they’re seeing. If I was running 35th every weekend or 25th every weekend they might say, ‘He ain’t got it no more, he’s washed up.’ But I don’t. When my car is fast, I lead laps, and I run up front. It’s as simple as that. I know what I can do when my stuff is right.”
Norris said he talked to Truex in March, and Truex said the decision was made in May. Norris and Truex have known each other since 2003, when Truex signed with Chance 2.
“I don’t think there’s any question of my loyalty or commitment to them [at DEI],” Truex said. “I’ve given them everything that I could. There got to be too many questions, too many things that were uncertain.”
Truex had re-signed with DEI last year for a one-year deal prior to the Ganassi merger.
“I never seen any of it coming [with Ganassi],” Truex said. “The plan when I re-signed was to go back to four cars, get some teammates in there that run well, and we could get in there and be competitive together.
“Chip has been great to work with, and what he has to work with really has helped us there. This year would have been a lot tougher without that. But that wasn’t the way we were supposed to head. I got promised a lot of things that just disappeared. A lot of things changed, and that’s just how it goes.”
One of the reasons Truex believes that MWR is the right spot for him is that Truex is a partner in the Camping World East Series team that his younger brother, Ryan, drives for. Martin Truex Jr. (who bought the cars), his father, and MWR are partners for that ride.
“That helped a lot,” Truex said. “I’ve been in here checking out his cars. … The more I looked at everything and seeing how they were doing everything, it all just came together.
“The more I looked, the better it got. It still looks better to me every day. It’s a great opportunity.”
The crew chief for Truex has not been determined, and Truex said he hopes he can bring Kevin “Bono” Manion from EGR to MWR.
“We’ve done a lot of good things together,” said Truex, who plans to remain at EGR for the rest of this season. “We’ve had a lot of success together. He’s like a brother to me. I’d love to have him. I have lot of confidence in him. I know he’s good. I know he can do the job.
“Obviously it’s not my sole decision to make.”
