If you’ve come to this site looking for the “Oral History of the 2008 Richmond race” post, it has its own page for archiving purposes.
You can find the link to the complete story here.
Link to 2008 Richmond story
12 Questions with Ty Dillon (2018)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Android | Google Podcasts | RSS
The 12 Questions series of interviews continues with Ty Dillon, who is in his second season driving for Germain Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. This interview is recorded as a podcast, but is also transcribed for those who prefer to read.
1. How often do you have dreams about racing?
I don’t now as much as when I was younger. I used to have the worst dream and it stressed me out so bad. The race would be firing off, cars would be rolling off and I was trying to still find my gloves or my helmet. Like, I’d be in the hauler scrambling. And then the race was going and I was missing the race and I just had that recurring dream all the time. That was the worst dream ever, I’d wake up sweating and stressed out.
2. If you get into someone during a race — intentional or not — does it matter if you apologize?
If you make a true mistake and you’re honest with the person, I think it’s worth going and saying something. I think if you’re racing hard, it should be understood.
I tried that a couple years ago with Regan (Smith at Watkins Glen). I told him when he came up to me, “I made a mistake, man. You deserve to be mad.” But he continued to get more and more mad and then it led to what it was (a skirmish on pit road). But I will always be honest if I make a mistake. I always tell the person and we’ll go from there.
So in the Watkins Glen situation, you were like, “Dude, it’s my fault” and he’s still getting mad?
I told him, “Hey, you are 100 percent right to be mad at me,” and he continued to get mad. Then I was like, “OK, now we’re into another realm of getting mad.” So that’s when I flare up.
3. What is the biggest compliment someone could give you?
The biggest compliment someone could give me right now would be just a compliment that I’m being a good husband and a father. That means more than anything to me in life. And then probably third on the list would be that people see that I’m working hard and just appreciate the work that I’ve put in to trying to be a good race car driver and all around good for the sport.
4. NASCAR comes to you and says, “Hey, we are bringing a celebrity to the race and we’re wondering if you have time to say hi.” Who is a celebrity you’d be really excited to host?
Migos was really cool. They’d be high on the list. Like sports star-wise, probably Cam Newton. I love the Braves, so any of the Braves players.
But like entertainment, I really like (rapper) Logic right now. I’ve been bumping him quite a bit, so if he were to come to the track, I’d like to show him around and show him our world.
That would be very cool. That would be very big for NASCAR.
For sure. Another one would be (entrepreneur and social media star) Gary Vaynerchuk, I’d like to take him around.
And he’s doing stuff with NASCAR, right?
Yeah, Vayner Media is doing a lot. I actually had worked with him when I went to Austin for South by Southwest with a vlog and spent a lot of time with him. I’m kind of developing myself outside of racing and inside of racing. I think what they’ve got going on is pretty special.
5. In an effort to show they are health-conscious, NASCAR offers the No. 1 pit stall selection for an upcoming race to the first driver willing to go vegan for a month. Would you do it?
For sure.
You would?
Oh yeah, I could do it. My wife (Haley) is a real good cook, and I’d just be like, “Alright Haley, let’s make this stuff taste good.” We’ll go for it. So I could do it.
I think you’re the first driver all year to say yes. I finally found somebody.
I don’t think the other drivers have qualified as bad as I have all year. (Laughs) So I really understand what the bad pit selection feels like. I’d do it for the whole year. It’d probably make me look better, too.
6. It’s time for the Random Race Challenge. I have picked a random race from your career and you have to guess where you finished. This is the 2015 Spring Xfinity race at Kentucky.
That’s a tough one. I had to be decent…I’ll say eighth.
The answer was P15. So you started second and you must have gotten the lead on the start because you led the first 15 laps. And then I don’t know what happened after that.
I’ve led so many laps at Kentucky. I think we got a speeding penalty or something that might have gotten us a lap down. There’s been a lot of Kentucky races where we started in the top five, led a bunch of laps. The last one might have been the fall race of ’15 or fall race of ’16, where we led the whole race and got beat on the green-white-checkered by Blaney. So I was confused between that one and that one.
Are you good at remembering races?
Somewhat. I can remember the good ones.
7. Who is the best rapper alive?
I think I gave myself away earlier with Logic. I like everything he’s got going on. Migos has some cool content. I just like the way they mix it up. But I’m gonna go with Logic.
8. Who has the most punchable face in NASCAR?
(Laughs) Do people answer this?
Some people do. I’ve gotten a couple answers.
I will just say, out of pure facts, it’s Kyle Busch because I think he’s had the most punches thrown at his face in our sport.
That is a factual answer.
Him and Brad (Keselowski), they both have had the most punches thrown at their faces.
So you’re going for a data answer here.
Data answer. That way I can back it up.
9. NASCAR enlists three famous Americans to be involved with your team for one race as part of a publicity push: Taylor Swift, LeBron James and Tom Hanks. Choose one to be your crew chief, one to be your spotter and one to be your motorhome driver.
I’ll take LeBron as the crew chief just because he’s a good team leader. He’s not as good at (Michael Jordan) though, but he’s the best leader in sports right now. Tom Hanks, I love his voice, so he can be my spotter. And then my wife and Taylor would probably get along well, so she can drive the motorhome.
Do you spend a lot of time with your motorhome driver?
Yeah, we could sit around, we could grill out and she could play the guitar and sing, which would be nice.
10. What is the key to finding the best pre-race bathroom?
That’s a major key. Just the closest port-a-john, really. We’re doing something on the vlog about that, like the best way to find your favorite driver is stand near the port-a-john nearest to their car before the race. That’s the easiest way to do it.
I feel like all tracks should have more port-a-johns. Some tracks really throw us a curve, like Martinsville, I had to run all the way to the backstretch to use the bathroom between the national anthem and “Gentlemen, start your engines,” which there isn’t a whole lot of time there to also get in the car and get all your stuff on.
11. NASCAR misses the highlight reel value brought by Carl Edwards’ backflips and decides a replacement is needed. How much money would they have to pay you to backflip off your car after your next win?
Whatever my medical bill will be to fix my neck when I break it. I’m just not a big acrobatic person.
Daniel Hemric can do backflips. He’ll probably do it when he wins one day. I’ll do something cool, but I can’t do a backflip.
But all they’d have to pay is your medical? You wouldn’t want extra fees on top of that?
I’d be generous because I won the race. Just pay my medical bill.
12. Each week, I ask a question given to me from the last interview. Last week, I interviewed Martin Truex Jr. He wants to know: Did it surprise you just how much harder Cup is than Xfinity?
Yes. When I was a rookie in Trucks and Xfinity, I was racing for championships and winning races right out of the gate my first year. Going to Cup, yeah, our team wasn’t at that level yet, but we had a really good step in the right direction. But to even be better at the Cup Series, it’s not another step — it’s like five steps to be much better.
I would like to mirror my career a lot off of what Martin’s done. To grow Furniture Row from what it was to what it is now, that’s definitely what we want to do at Germain. Yeah, it’s definitely a lot tougher than I expected. I was able to make a lot of starts to get a little bit of a feel for (Cup) to help, and we had our best year statistically that Germain Racing’s had, but it’s definitely a major step that I think a lot of people don’t realize.
The next interview I’m doing is with an IndyCar driver. Do you have a question I can ask a driver in the IndyCar Series?
Why does it seem that NASCAR drivers can come to Indy and IndyCar racing and run well like AJ Allmendinger and Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart in their cars, but when they come to ours, the learning curve seems a lot steeper?
That’s a really good question. I’d like to know that answer myself.
See, I might be the most punchable face in IndyCar after that, so we’ll see.
Previous 12 Questions interviews with Ty Dillon:
Post-Race Podcast: Bristol and Long Beach with Jordan Bianchi and Joey Barnes
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Android | Google Podcasts | RSS
After an eventful race weekend, I’m joined by SB Nation’s Jordan Bianchi and Motorsports Tribune’s Joey Barnes to help break down the Bristol NASCAR race and the Long Beach Grand Prix.
The Top Five: Breaking down the Bristol and Long Beach races
Five thoughts after NASCAR’s race at Bristol and IndyCar’s race at Long Beach…
1. Urgency and impatience
Bristol was the best race of the year so far, and it pretty much has lapped the competition in what has been largely a ho-hum season to this point.
It’s a shame only a few thousand people appeared to be in the stands after a postponement and many were stuck at work on a Monday, because the “old” Bristol everyone has been clamoring for — a dominant bottom groove — was back.
At least for a day.
The combination of the sticky PJ1 compound, the freezing weather and a top groove that never really got rubbered in — thanks to both short runs and the rain — meant the place to make passes was on the bottom. And impatient drivers, knowing the race could end any time if another rain/sleet/snow cell came through, frequently used the bumper to make their way to the front.
Even Kyle Busch’s winning pass on Kyle Larson was a bump-and-run — something that couldn’t be achieved in recent years when the top was the fastest lane. After all, you can’t bump someone out of the way when you’re already next to the wall.
This might have been a fluke situation, given the temperatures. When NASCAR returns to Bristol in August, the bottom might not be dominant anymore.
But at least this was one weekend where the conditions — despite being less than ideal for those in attendance — actually helped make for a great show.
2. Short tracks rule yet again
My favorite part about watching racing is when you can see the driver making a difference in the car. I’ve never cared that much about watching a dominant car that is faster than everyone else; I want to see extremely talented drivers perform and put on a show.
Bristol was another example of a short track bringing the drivers into the equation more than a typical NASCAR track. What made Monday’s race so fun to watch was the various drivers working their way into the top five and having to make decisions on how to work through lapped traffic and preserve their tires.
Look at Bubba Wallace, for example: There he was, battling with Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch for the race lead. And then he nudged Keselowski out of the way and actually took the top spot! It was very exciting to see a rookie driver do that, because that kind of thing just doesn’t happen on the typical NASCAR oval.
Ryan Newman was up there having a good run for much of the race. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. challenged for the win. Jimmie Johnson reminded everyone he’s still the best driver in history. And viewers could see that a big reason their cars were up toward the front was because of the drivers.
That’s what I love to see, and I assume others watch for the same reasons. Wouldn’t it be nice to see that type of action on a weekly basis?
Once again: More Short Tracks, please!
3. A grand Grand Prix
The Long Beach Grand Prix was the first time in memory I covered a race for work but sort of wished I attended for fun instead.
That’s because everyone I walked by just looked so damn happy. People were enjoying the sunshine, margarita in hand, watching race cars go by all day. You could sit in the grandstands if you wanted to, or change your angle of the race by walking around the course to see various turns.
There was music, a convention hall full of displays and activities, go-karting and, of course, the spectacular scenery (Want to stare at the harbor while race cars drive by in the background? You can!). I could easily picture walking around with my future children and having a relaxing family outing.
It was glorious. It’s no wonder the Grand Prix said more than 185,000 people attended over the course of three days — up slightly from 183,400 last year.
But who are the people that attend? Are they race fans — those who follow IndyCar or IMSA and know the drivers — or are they people who show up because it’s a festival that happens to have a race?
I asked roughly a dozen people that question during the course of the weekend, both on the record and in casual conversation. The most common answer was about 50-50, though no one went higher than 60 percent race fans. And some went as low as 30 percent race fans.
Personally, I think it was closer to the smaller number. As an experiment — admittedly an unscientific one — I watched 100 people walk by and made a tally on my notepad for every person who was wearing racing-related clothing of some kind (even if it was Formula One or a shirt displaying vintage cars). Out of those random 100 people, only 27 wore any type of apparel that would identify them as someone interested in cars or racing.
Now, I’m not saying all race fans wear racing merchandise — and perhaps in a different area of the track, I would have gotten a different number. But the point is, I’m convinced the majority of the people there were either casual fans or not fans of racing at all.
And…that’s perfectly fine! There’s no problem with that. What’s great about having a race right in a city is you bring the event to the people. There’s still the usual opportunity for any hardcore race fan to attend, but it exposes the product to potential new fans as well.
But even if the attendees don’t become fans, those people still paid to get in the gates, along with whatever they spend on food, drinks and shopping.
“Every track should be doing stuff like this,” eventual Long Beach winner Alexander Rossi told me via phone last month. “If you want families and people to come out, you make it an event and talk about all the things you can experience. That’s a positive thing. You’ll get people in the door that maybe would never be there otherwise, and maybe you get some of them hooked on racing in the process.”
Defending IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden said when he meets people at Long Beach, he can tell many of them are just there for the party. But there are also plenty of true fans who bring him old-school racing gear to sign, which shows there’s “a really nice blend of (people).”
“When you put on a street course race, it is kind of like a festival and a party, so you want people to just show up and have a good time and enjoy the atmosphere,” Newgarden said. “But it’s also nice to have those purist racers who are here for the action and want to see the race, and I think you get a good mix.”
4. The garage and the paddock
Prior to covering this IndyCar race, I had been to every NASCAR race weekend so far this season. And I have to say, the general vibes couldn’t be more different.
In NASCAR, there’s a sense of gloom as the ratings have continued to decline. There’s the familiar hand-wringing over the direction of the sport, frustration at the racing getting overshadowed by things like penalties or pit guns, and a high degree of sensitivity over anything perceived as negative. It feels like NASCAR is always fending off one crisis after another.
But in IndyCar, there’s a sense of optimism and enthusiasm. The drivers seem happy to be there and they openly speak about positive changes (like the new car). When you talk to people who work in the IndyCar paddock, they truly feel their sport is going in the right direction.
And yet…NASCAR’s attendance and viewership still dwarfs IndyCar on a weekly basis. So in theory, people in the NASCAR industry should have reason to be happier and IndyCar should be discouraged about the relative lack of attention. But it’s the opposite.
I don’t have the answer for why that is, other than IndyCar seems to already have endured its most challenging stretch and is now on the rise while NASCAR hasn’t bottomed out yet during its decade-long slump.
5. Points leaders
Busch and Long Beach winner Alexander Rossi might race different types of cars, but they have something in common so far this season.
They’ve both emerged as the drivers to beat in their respective series.
Kevin Harvick got the attention with his three wins, but Busch’s last six races have been ridiculous — two wins, three runner-up finishes and a third-place finish. Busch is now the NASCAR points leader by 59 over Joey Logano.
Meanwhile, Rossi leads the IndyCar points by 22 over Josef Newgarden in a series that does not have a playoff.
After Long Beach, veteran driver Will Power said IndyCar right now has “the most competitive, talented group of drivers the series has seen.” And out of all those great drivers, Rossi is out-pacing everyone.
“When you look at what Rossi did this weekend — man, really, really strong,” Power said. “I think he’s going to be tough to beat in the championship. He’s definitely what I’d call a standout of the field right now in every respect.”
Long Beach Grand Prix: How much racing is too much?
There’s no such thing as too much racing — well, perhaps unless there’s not enough time to fit it all in.
Such was the case on a glorious Saturday at Long Beach — “Super Saturday,” which squeezed in track activity for six different series over the course of 11 hours.
It was a fantastic day for anyone who likes racing even the tiniest bit, and a near-perfect one when you factor in the sunshine, spectacular oceanside setting — complete with a harbor and lagoon — and the huge motorsports expo that takes up the entire Long Beach Convention Center floor.
But there was one small blemish on the day: Robby Gordon’s Stadium Super Trucks, which had a 20-minute window to race between IndyCar qualifying and the Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge, had to end its race after only six laps.
Stadium Super Trucks leap off jumps placed as obstacles in the street course, and driver Apdaly Lopez accidentally flipped his truck off a jump on Lap 5.
Typically, track workers just roll an upside-down truck back over and keep going. But this time, it took too long — and officials ran out of time to restart the race.
Gordon apologized to the fans on the public address system after finishing second, and third-place finisher Arie Luyendyk Jr. — also known as The Bachelor — said the drivers were “a little bummed.”
“There’s a certain time window we have to abide by,” Luyendyk said. “But typically, 90 percent of the time we get a full race in.”
A spokesman for the series was critical of the amount of time to get the truck rolled over, telling reporters the race should have gone back to green.
“We are governed by race control of the Long Beach Grand Prix, who put on an extremely great event every year and we’re lucky to be a part of it,” the spokesman said. “However, we’re obviously very upset with the way things happened. … That was just not right, and it shouldn’t have taken so long.”
Race winner Gavin Harlien said he didn’t expect the race would be over when the caution came out and thus felt a little shortchanged.
“That’s not how I want to win, but, I mean, I’ll take it,” he said.
On the positive, side, this sort of thing is only possible when so many series share the track at once. That’s actually a good problem to have from a fan standpoint.
For a $65 general admission ticket (or a $100 weekend pass with a reserved seat), spectators could spend the entire day wandering the course, which snakes its way through the prime real estate of the Long Beach waterfront.
There are multiple spots to stop and observe the cars, take photos or just bask in the California sun; personally, I walked 7.9 miles during the course of the day while exploring the circuit.
From IndyCar practice and qualifying (Alexander Rossi won the pole) to an IMSA’s slick sports cars to Gordon’s trucks to Historic Trans Am cars (that ran in the 60s and still race), it seemed like a non-stop schedule. As I write this, there are still cars on the track — a drifting challenge competition that goes until 8 p.m. local time.
Anyway, there’s some solace knowing another Stadium Super Trucks race will run tomorrow — and since it’s scheduled for after the IndyCar race, the entire thing should be completed this time.
If not, that’s the only way “too much of a good thing” could ever apply to racing.
Tommy Joe Martins: Compelling but hidden mid-pack battle in Xfinity Series
Editor’s note: Tommy Joe Martins is a driver in the Xfinity Series. He occasionally writes blog posts about the triumphs and struggles of lesser-funded race teams in NASCAR.
By Tommy Joe Martins
In each NASCAR Xfinity Series event, you get two races in one: a race for the win and a season-long race for the top 30 in the owners point standings.
Both races matter.
On any given weekend, there are roughly 20 Cup-affiliated teams in an Xfinity Series event. Over the course of a 33-race season, those teams are basically guaranteed a top 30 position in the points. The other teams are left scrapping over the remaining 10 spots.
The importance of those spots lies in a $6,000 bonus guaranteed to any team in the top 30 that attempts every race, runs half the race and doesn’t put a Cup driver in its car.
Now, $6,000 on a single weekend doesn’t change much for a race team — but $6,000 for 33 races is close to $200,000. That’s 25 percent of a projected prize money budget for an Xfinity team.
Despite the general perception that you want to run as well as possible in any given race, the truth is where you finish in one race doesn’t matter that much from a money standpoint. The difference between 35th-place purse money and 10th-place money is usually around $2,000.
So is it really worth it to try to chase after 10th place? Think of the money it takes to run 10th against Cup teams! A full allotment of tires at Auto Club Speedway this season would have cost more than $18,000 — and the race paid an average of $23,000 through the field.
The main gain from a good finish is points. They are the most valuable currency in NASCAR.
What makes this tough to follow is points are relative to who you’re racing. It’s why my team can be excited about a 22nd-place finish while JR Motorsports can be mad at finishing 10th.
For example: I could finish 22nd and beat everyone that WE race against. A small team could be 26th in the owner’s standings — like my team, BJ McLeod Motorsports — and basically guarantee itself into every race because it’s ahead of the majority of the other smaller teams. Teams at the back of the standings find themselves in danger of missing races when the field is over 40 cars.
Owning a race team with limited funds is a balancing act. It’s a season-long grinder made up of short and long-term choices. One race weekend won’t ruin your season, but each weekend shapes course of the year.
Take MBM Motorsports, for example. They’ve had a ton of bad luck to begin this 2018 season. They’re near the bottom of the standings of the full-time teams. They’re missing the bonus each race. They just crashed a car last weekend at Texas (it wasn’t Chad Finchum’s fault, it was just a bad deal). And they’re not guaranteed into any race, so they have to qualify into each event on time (top-33) or they might go home.
That’s incredibly difficult to recover from. How do you get any extra funds needed to gain positions in the standings? You never get the bonus. Drivers who bring money want to take their funds to teams with guaranteed spots. Sponsors want teams with guaranteed spots. It’s an uphill slope.
Plus, it’s incredibly difficult to gain points on your direct competition. At Texas, the No. 8 car finished 22nd, four laps down. The No. 45 car finished seven laps down — in 24th! Three extra laps on the racetrack only gained you two extra
points.
So the only chance you really have to gain points is when your competitors run into bad luck. A finish of 36th or worse only gets 1 point.
That said, there are two primary options when it comes to setting out the strategy for your season:
— Outspend the prize money and guarantee yourself a higher position in the points while relying on sponsorship to balance the budget.
— Budget-race as cheaply as possible while putting yourself at risk to miss races.
But at each race, that strategy can come into question.
Do you spend more money on tires to try for a better points day? No guarantees there.
Do you take money from a lesser-skilled, paying driver? It’ll help balance the budget, but could hurt your points position in the long term.
If you struggle in practice, do you start-and-park to preserve the car for another day?
If it’s a high tire wear track and there aren’t any scuff tires available, do you start-and-park to save money?
Do you risk gaining spots on a restart, or drop your driver back to preserve the car for the next race?
Upgrading your motor costs money. Upgrading your car costs money. Upgrading your personnel costs money.
And every choice is about survival.
That’s why I find the race in the midfield so compelling. Each team is doing what it has to do on any given weekend while balancing how each choice affects its position in the bigger picture of the season.
I think my team owner, BJ McLeod, has found a terrific balance between being as competitive as possible without breaking the budget. It’s the only thing that’s allowed me to have the opportunity I have to drive his race cars.
When Bayley Currey stepped into the No. 8 car at Texas and finished 22nd, that was huge a huge boost to our team. With a rookie driver in the seat, that could have been a very rough weekend. Instead, he did a fantastic job surviving a difficult race.
My role at BJMM is to win our race. So far, I feel like I’ve done my job. There are a few racetracks each season that can provide a major shakeup in the standings for small teams — superspeedways, road courses and short tracks. And the next three races on our schedule are Bristol, Richmond and Talladega.
I just received the news I’ll be in the No. 8 car for all three of them. I couldn’t be more excited to get back in the seat and keep building on what’s already been a terrific start to our season.
12 Questions with Martin Truex Jr. (2018)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Android | Google Podcasts | RSS
The series of 12 Questions interviews continues with defending Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing. This interview is recorded both as a podcast and is transcribed in written form. Truex has participated in a 12 Questions interview for every year of the series (2010-present); an archive of his past interviews can be found at the bottom of this page.
1. How often do you have dreams about racing?
Do I ever dream about racing? Yes I do. I can tell you in your dreams, you always win. (Laughs)
Do you ever have a winning dream and then it comes true for that race?
Eight times last year. (Laughs)
2. If you get into someone during a race — intentional or not — does it matter if you apologize?
I think it matters. There’s a line there where you kind of know if that might not have been intentional and might have been an accident. And then when you hear somebody say, “Man, I’m sorry, I really feel bad about blah, blah, blah,” it kind of makes you feel a little bit better. Like “OK, I think he’s not lying.” But you can usually tell when they’re completely full of crap.
3. What is the biggest compliment someone could give you?
I think the biggest compliment is just somebody that respects who you are as a person. If somebody says, “Man, he’s a good guy.” In my opinion, that’s a pretty big deal to me, you know?
4. NASCAR comes to you and says, “Hey, we are bringing a celebrity to the race and we’re wondering if you have time to say hi.” Who is a celebrity you’d be really excited to host?
I’m not huge on celebrities. Like I don’t get starstruck or anything.
By anybody?
It’d have to be somebody old school, like some old (guy) like Hank Williams Jr. or something like that, like a legend. It couldn’t just be some guy that’s on TV or a movie star. It would have to be somebody who is legendary. Hank would do it.
5. In an effort to show they are health-conscious, NASCAR offers the No. 1 pit stall selection for an upcoming race to the first driver willing to go vegan for a month. Would you do it?
Heck no! That’s insane. Who doesn’t eat meat? How could you live? How could anyone live? I don’t know. Like Sherry (Pollex, his longtime partner) tries to do it somewhat because it’s good for her and stuff, but she can’t even do it. She tries, but she has to eat meat, too. It’s impossible. If you don’t eat meat, there’s something wrong with you.
6. It’s time for the Random Race Challenge. I have picked a random race from your career and you have to guess where you finished. This is the 2014 Spring Dover race.
’14, that was a pretty rough year. But we did run good at Dover both times. I’m gonna say sixth.
Wow, that is correct! Sixth.
We finished sixth in both races at Dover that year.
How do you remember that stuff?
I remember everything.
So you can remember most races?
I remember a lot of races and what I did and what happened. I can remember racing my Modified and what setup I had and what springs I ran in at what race and this and that. It’s pretty crazy.
But I can’t remember people’s names for crap, just so you know.
Is that a trade you would make?
Not yet. Not until I’m done racing. (Laughs)
7. Who is the best rapper alive?
I don’t know.
You don’t know any rappers?
I don’t.
You’re not into rap at all?
Not really, no.
You don’t strike me as a rap-type person.
No. There’s some songs that I think, “That’s not terrible.” Like I don’t turn it off, but I’m not really into it much.
So that’s the highest compliment you can give a rap song. Like, “Yeah, I won’t turn it off.”
I won’t change it.
8. Who has the most punchable face in NASCAR?
Man, I love this guy, but Joey Logano.
So it’s not like you want to punch him, it’s just his face seems punchable, is that what you’re saying?
Yes. It’s just sitting up there on that long neck, just right there for the taking. And he’s always squinting so much, it’s like he wouldn’t even see it coming. (Laughs) I love Joey, he’s a great guy, so I would never do that. There have been a few times in racing that I wanted to punch him, but that’s pretty much for everybody out there at one point in time.
9. NASCAR enlists three famous Americans to be involved with your team for one race as part of a publicity push: Taylor Swift, LeBron James and Tom Hanks. Choose one to be your crew chief, one to be your spotter and one to be your motorhome driver.
Tom Hanks is definitely gonna be the crew chief. He seems like the smartest of the bunch to me. He may not be, but it seems like he would be. Motorhome driver, I’m gonna have to go with LeBron, just because it would be hilarious.
Your motorhome driver takes you around in the golf cart and things?
Absolutely.
So you get to spend time with them?
Yeah, that’d be fun.
But then Taylor would be your spotter.
Yeah, I mean, I listen to half of what my spotter says anyway, so it’ll be fine. (Laughs)
10. What is the key to finding the best pre-race bathroom?
Honestly, I just go to the closest one. I got a new PR guy (David Hart) this year and he’s kind of been scouting them out for me. Over the years, I’ve always had to go and find it by myself and I always see Kyle (Busch’s) motorhome driver standing there holding the door for him and waiting and I’m like, “Seriously?” But now my guy, he actually scopes it out. When I see him after I get out of the pickup truck, we do the ridearound usually, he’s like, “There’s a bathroom right there,” and I’m like, “Sweet, man! Thanks!” So it’s working out pretty good so far.
11. NASCAR misses the highlight reel value brought by Carl Edwards’ backflips and decides a replacement is needed. How much money would they have to pay you to backflip off your car after your next win?
Well it depends on what there is there to land on — or in. If there’s a foam pit or a swimming pool, I’d probably do it.
I don’t think there’s gonna be that.
But on the grass or asphalt, no. They couldn’t pay me enough, because I won’t be able to go race the next weekend, because I would have damn sure busted my ass.
Well if it was Homestead, you have the whole offseason to recover.
I can’t do a backflip at all. Period. I can’t do it into a pool. I can’t do a backflip.
What if they give you $50 million bucks?
I would just fall on my face and then put $50 million bucks in the bank. And then I wouldn’t do anything different than I do right now, so what’s the point?
12. Each week, I ask a question given to me from the last interview. Last week, I interviewed Noah Gragson. He wants to know: Does NASCAR need more road courses?
I think there should be. I think two is not quite enough. Maybe four would be good. There’s so many good road courses around the country that we could go to. It’d be fun. I love road racing too, so I think it would be fun. Four would be good. I don’t think we need any more than that.
The next interview I’m doing is with Ty Dillon. Do you have a question I can ask him?
Did it surprise you just how much harder Cup is than Xfinity? Because I think everybody kind of gets surprised. I just want to see kind of how he feels about it.
Previous 12 Questions interviews with Martin Truex Jr.