Toyota NSCS Atlanta Martin Truex. Jr. Notes & Quotes

TOYOTA NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
Martin Truex Jr. — Notes & Quotes
Atlanta Motor Speedway – August 30, 2013MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
How do you feel entering the Atlanta race weekend?
“Obviously, I’ll start off with the wrist and what happened at Bristol (Motor Speedway).  It was obviously unfortunate for something like that to happen this time of year with the position we’re in and where we are at in points and trying to make the Chase and the Wild Card situation and all that, but I feel good that we’re able to come here and race and do the best job we can do.  I think that this doesn’t change anything for us.  We’re going to race these next two races as hard as we can and try to get ourselves in that Chase and we’ll do whatever that takes.  So far today, I feel pretty good in the car.  I was a little bit nervous coming here — not real sure what it was going to be like.  I’ve never drove hurt before.  I’ve never been hurt in a race car before, but the first lap out on the track I felt really good and everything has gone well today, so so far so good and we’ll just keep an eye on things throughout the weekend and hopefully have a great weekend here.  We’ve had some good runs here in Atlanta.  I love this race track and feel like we’ve got a good opportunity here to make something happen, so hopefully we’ll be able to do that this weekend.”

Will you change strategy if you make the Chase?
“Well, I don’t know.  I think it depends on where your program is at.  I think for us and where we are at right now, I think that getting in the Chase it’s kind of like a fresh start.  We’ve had a tough season.  We’ve overcome a lot to be where we are, honestly.  We’ve overcome the odds to be even having a chance at the Chase right now with all the DNFs and stuff that we’ve had.  I think we throw caution to the wind if we make it.  We’ll go for everything we can go for.  Last year was disappointing to make the Chase and then have the things happen to us that did and finished 11th in the points.  If we can make it, we’re going to go for broke, that’s for sure.”

How do you feel about the new tire after practice?
“It doesn’t feel much different.  Obviously, it’s a lot different construction and build and we did a tire test here a few weeks ago and it’s all about trying to save that shoulder — that insider should of the tire — from heat, from blowing out tires.  Atlanta is a place that is very difficult — probably the most challenging track to build a tire for for Goodyear.  The speeds are very high, the track is really abrasive and so the tires really wear out a lot.  They build a lot of heat and that’s a huge challenge for Goodyear.  I know they’ve been working on this tire for a long, long time and as soon as we put it on the tire test it was like, ‘Yeah, okay.’  As a driver, it’s fine.  It feels good and they’ve been happy with what they’ve seen wear-wise.  Definitely something that will be able to kind of take us into future and be able to deal with tire issues and building better tires for every race track we go to.”

What are the expectations for your wrist recovery and do you plan to use a backup driver?
“We do have a backup driver as of now.  Scott Speed will be there to stand in, but after practice honestly I feel really good about — I’m going to say there’s a 99 percent chance that I will race the whole race.  I felt really good today.  We just wanted to have a plan in place just in case because I really wasn’t sure what to expect coming here today.  Like I said, I’ve never been hurt before, never had to drive hurt, never even had a cast on my hand for God’s sake.  So far, everything is going well.  But, yes, we do have a backup driver and, no, I didn’t consider not going to the doctor.  The healing time they say is roughly six weeks.  Supposedly the bone I broke, which is the scaphoid, is supposedly like the slowest healing bone in the body, which is kind of frustrating for me.  He’s thinking six weeks with the cast, I’ll be good to go.  If not, maybe put a screw in it in the offseason and then it will be about the same recovery time.  Again, not too worried about it.  I think for me the biggest challenge right now is still all the parts that were sprained.  My fingers still hurt.  My knuckles are still kind of tender, so shifting is a little bit of an issue as far as the pain goes.  But as far as driving the car, I was surprised at how good it felt and how normal it felt to be honest.  Glad I went to the doctor and glad I got it taken care of and hopefully we’ll be good to go in a few weeks.”

What are you doing to speed up your recovery?
“I think the biggest thing is just rest.  There is some exercise stuff that I’ve been doing.  I got help from our trainers at Michael Waltrip Racing as far as getting the tightness out from the sprained part and that’s definitely helped.  Again, today was a light day — just did qualifying runs — but honestly I felt so good right away.  I was like, ‘We’re going to be fine here.’ It definitely hurts a little bit here and there at different times, but nothing I don’t think I will be able to deal with and it should be good.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing (continued)
How is your grip on the steering wheel with the cast on?
“The cast I got molded basically just held onto a steering wheel.  They started wrapping the fiberglass around it when it was still moldable and I just grabbed a wheel and kind of tried to position my hand where I feel like I normally do and then let it dry, and that’s what I’ve got here.  I probably would make a small change here or there maybe if I could do it over again, but so far it feels good.  My grip is good.  That’s one thing that has helped me — I’m still able to grip really tight and I can squeeze, so that’s a good thing.  As far as the wreck goes, honestly, I don’t know.  I’ve been racing 22 years and I feel like I did the same thing there that I always do, and that’s trying to get through the wreck as far as possible.  I think what happened was I basically hit the wall with the right front and the 29 car (Kevin Harvick) hit my left front at the exact same time.  I think it just turned both wheels the same way.  It was kind of like one of those weird instances where everything happens that you don’t want to and it just ripped the wheel out of my hand and I tried to get — obviously, I’m sure I tried to get my hand out of there.  I just wasn’t quick enough.  It happened so fast.  Bristol (Motor Speedway) is — you’re running so fast — we were already so close to the wall when it happened, I guess I just didn’t have enough time to get my hand off.  That’s the best I could come up with based on what I remember from the crash, watching the in-car footage.  It looked like I tried to get my hand out of there, just didn’t do it quick enough.  Typically at big tracks you have time.  If you get spun out somewhere and you’re sliding towards the inside wall, you have plenty of time to pretty much figure out what’s going on.  I think all the circumstances, the way it happened — I was already close to the wall, it happened really fast and, again, I kind of got smashed into the wall.   At the same time I hit Kevin (Harvick), I hit the wall and it just cranked the steering wheel.  Not much I could do there, I guess.  Definitely something to think about going forward.  I don’t think I’ve ever tried to let go of the wheel before when I crash, I usually grab it pretty good.”

Were you surprised to learn Denny Hamlin suffered a similar injury from the same wreck?
“I was.  No, I haven’t talked to him (Denny Hamlin) about it, but I probably will when I see him just to see kind of what his take on what happened was as far as what he thought caused it or what he thought could have done different.  You always want to learn.  You never want that stuff to happen.  It’s frustrating.  It definitely hurt when it first happened, but I think more than anything I was angry because I knew I was hurt and I knew what we have on the line when it happened and I was like, ‘This can’t be happening right now.’  I’ll probably talk to him and see what happened to him.  Obviously his isn’t broken — sure wish mine wasn’t — but it is what it is.”

Can you fish with the cast?
“Can’t fish, no — bummer.  Can’t do much of anything.  This was probably one of the most boring weeks of my life.  And, I’m not very good as a lefty, so the things I have to do at the house that I have to do as a lefty are not much fun.”