[B]
NAPA KNOW HOW!!!
A clip from NASCAR’s site:
Martin Truex Jr. might have just concluded his second season with Michael Waltrip Racing, but when Waltrip released David Reutimann with little more than a month remaining in the schedule, it was obvious MWR was pinning its future hopes on Truex’s 31-year-old shoulders.
Truex showed a glimpse of what was coming, near the end of the summer when he snared a fourth-place at Watkins Glen, followed two races later by a runner-up finish at Bristol.
Truex’s affinity for working with crew chief Chad Johnston was beginning to show.
Waltrip was all smiles, though, on pit road following the Homestead finale after Truex, who came and went in the top five throughout the day and night, finally nailed down a third-place finish.
“It’s a big deal for our team to grab a top-five here, in our last race – it confirms the direction of our organization,” Waltrip said. “We’ve made some serious changes over the last few months and this certainly validates what we’re doing.”
The biggest deal, other than releasing Reutimann, who Truex praised as a great teammate and who had scored the only two Cup race wins MWR has ever managed, was signing vice president of competition Scott Miller from Richard Childress Racing.
His impact, both in equipment and working a couple of races as crew chief on the pit box with Truex, has been sharp.
“We’ve done a better job for Martin and got him better cars to race,” Waltrip said. "He just needs confidence, and if that’s the headline, I don’t give a crap. He needs to be able to believe more in what he’s driving.
“And [Sunday night at Homestead] builds confidence. What we’ve done over the last month or so builds confidence. There’s no one who can drive a car better than Martin, and if we give him the equipment, week in and week out to go do the job in, I feel really good about the Chase and wins and everything we’re doing.”
Waltrip said, as the checkers waved at Homestead, “The first text I got was from the president of NAPA [Truex’s sponsor], just saying, ‘Wow, that was awesome.’ And that’s so important for our team, because we’ve got to deliver for them.”
Waltrip just laughed when he was asked if, when Johnston returns, in alliance with Miller and along with Waltrip’s longtime competition executive Bobby Kennedy, the possibilities for 2012 might be limitless.
“Chad Johnston’s been emailing, texting, sending suggestions and doing all he can,” Waltrip said. "I think this has shown the depth of our organization, since Talladega – we finished top-10 at Talladega, Texas and Martinsville and then stumbled at Phoenix but we’re back with a top-five at Homestead.
“And that was all without having the guys that we picked to be the ‘A’ team on the box,” Waltrip said of the suspensions. "We had to put in some backups, so I’m really proud and very thankful that we’re organized in a way that puts us in a position to overcome the bump in the road that the stupid windshields at Talladega caused us.
“That was ridiculous that we let that happen, but our organization fought through it and I’m thankful.”
With Scott Miller and Clint Boyer from Childress, and Getting Mark Martin the MWR Camp will be one to watch next year!!!
What you think???
There’s only 85 days left!!!
GOoooo NASCAR GOoooo!!![/B]
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