Ryan Truex - Martinsville Preview

CORNELIUS, N.C. — Michael Waltrip Racing developmental driver Ryan Truex races at Martinsville Speedway this weekend in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East UNOH Performance 200.
The race marks the 18-year-old’s debut at the historic flat, mile oval. The defending series champion finished 14th in the season-opening race at Greenville-Pickens, third at South Boston and fifth at Iowa speedways. He’s now second in points just 13 points out of the lead. The younger brother of MWR Sprint cup driver Martin Truex Jr., will race in six Nationwide Series races in 2010 beginning July 17 at Gateway International Raceway. He’ll also race at Michigan, Richmond, Kansas, Charlotte and Homestead-Miami.

QUOTES


ON DEFENDING THE SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP: “I’m up to second in points now. Hopefully we can have a good run and get up to first. We just need to keep the car out of the fence. It’s a tough track. Everyone uses their bumpers and the side of their cars there to try and drive by you so hopefully we can run up front and avoid a lot of that.”

ON RACE STRATEGY: “It’s 200 laps, you get two tires and you can come in whenever you want. I don’t really know how we’re going to do it. You can come in halfway and get gas and tires or you can come in later and get just gas and not tires. Track position is a big deal there. You want to be up front, you don’t want to get funneled to the back because then you have to work through and there are always wrecks there. We don’t want to end up with a torn up racecar so strategy is going to be a big deal. We’ll have our work cut out for us, but I’m pretty confident my guys can figure it out.”

ON MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY: ““I’ve never actually been to Martinsville, so I’m excited. It has a lot of history. Hopefully we can get a grandfather clock. That’s a really big deal. We’ve done well at every track we went to last year that was new. I think we’ll be alright, I know we can be up there contending for the win.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• The 18-year-old driver is second in K&N Pro Series East standings, with 456 points. He trails leader Max Gresham by a mere 13 points.

• The Mayetta, N.J. native is the first driver to earn a championship for Michael Waltrip Racing.

• Truex recently participated in Michael Waltrip Racing’s Fan Appreciation Day on May 26, 2010 where he signed autographs for 200 fans at the MWR shop.

• Truex is the third member of his family to compete in the K&N Pro Series East. His father, Martin Truex Sr., and his brother Martin Truex Jr. also competed in the series.

• Truex will make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut on July 17 at Gateway International Raceway.

Ryan Truex Iowa Race Report

Ryan Truex, No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Armed Forces Foundation Toyota Camry - finished sixth - now second in points.


Ryan Truex Race Summary: Ryan Truex was solid all day in Iowa in the K&N Pro Series’ version of an All-Star Race where the top East Series drivers square off against the best West Series drivers. Truex qualified third and fought his way to the lead early. Truex and crew chief Mike Greci fought a loose condition all day, but remained in the top five most of the event. Despite the car’s handling, Truex came home sixth when the flag fell on a green-white-checkered finish. The solid points day places Truex firmly in second in East Series standings, just 14 behind leader and Iowa winner Max Gresham.


KNPS Race Results

• Max Gresham won the Goodyear Dealers of Iowa 200

• This is his second consecutive win this season

• This is his first appearance at Iowa

• Gresham edged Ty Dillon (second) by a fender at the line, Darrell Wallace Jr., Corey LaJoie and pole sitter David Mayhew rounded out the top five.

• The race featured nine lead changes among seven drivers.

• The race was slowed by seven cautions for a total of 50 laps.

Ryan Truex, No. 00 Armed Forces Foundation Toyota

• Truex started third and finished sixth

• Led six laps midway through the event

• Ran inside the top five for the majority of the race

• Came home sixth after a green-white-checkered finish

Truex Quotes: “Our car was great during that first run, but something changed after we pitted. I’m not sure if we got a bad set of tires or what, but our car was just too loose the rest of the race. I’ve got to thank everyone on my team though. Once again they gave me fast car. It was a good points day for us, so we’ll take that and get ready for Martinsville.”

Ryan Truex Iowa Preview

CORNELIUS, N.C. — Michael Waltrip Racing developmental driver Ryan Truex heads to Iowa Speedway this weekend for the fourth annual NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West combination race. This event marks the only race in which competitors from the East and West series go head-to-head with championship points on the line. This year’s race is the third race of the season for both series.


After starting the season with a 14th-place finish at Greenville, defending K&N Pro Series East Champion Truex bounced back to finish third at South Boston moving him to fourth in points. The three East-West combination races at Iowa have produced three different race winners. Truex hopes to be the fourth this weekend in the Goodyear Dealers of Iowa 200.


QUOTES


ON HAVING SUCH A LONG BREAK BETWEEN EVENTS: “I hate it, to be honest. We had back-to-back events in April and I just started to feel like the team and I were getting into a groove. Plus, we had a strong run at South Boston (finished third) so I definitely didn’t want to take a break.”

ON THE RACE BEING A COMBINATION EVENT: “It definitely elevates the competition level. There are a lot of good racers in the West division. We don’t get to compete against them much so this gives us a chance to see where we stack up against those guys.”

ON IOWA SPEEDWAY: “I love racing there. Last year was my first year there and I got a feel for the place pretty quickly. It’s definitely one of the nicer tracks on the circuit. It’s fast and wide so you’ve got plenty of room to pass which makes it exciting for the fans.


ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• Last year Truex qualified third but finished 33rd after an mid-race incident. Truex then reeled off seven consecutive top-three finishes winning the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship.

• This weekend Truex will run an Armed Forces Foundation (AFF) paint scheme on his No. 00 Toyota Camry. In addition to the custom paint scheme fans are encouraged to text ‘AFF’ to 50555 and contribute $10 that will support our country’s military and their families. The text campaign will run through the end of 2010.

• Truex is the third member of his family to compete in the K&N Pro Series East. His father, Martin Truex Sr., and his brother Martin Truex Jr. also competed in the series.

• Truex will make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut on July 17 at Gateway International Raceway.

• The 18-year-old driver is fourth in K&N Pro Series East standings, with 296 points. He trails leader Cole Whitt by 49 points.

• The Mayetta, N.J., native will sign autographs 6-8 p.m. on May 26 at the Michael Waltrip Racing Fan Appreciation Event. The event will be held at Michael Waltrip Racing at exit 28 on I-77 in Cornelius, N.C.

SOUTH BOSTON, Va. – Michael Waltrip Racing development driver Ryan Truex finished third in Saturday’s NASCAR K&N Pro Series East event at South Boston Speedway. It was a strong rebound for Truex and his No. 00 Toyota team after finishing 14th in the season-opener at Greenville (S.C.) Speedway a week earlier.


“Our car was really strong from the moment we unloaded it,” said Truex, the 2009 K&N Pro Series East champion. “This team just seems to be able to bounce back whenever we have trouble. This is not even the strongest car in our stable and we still finished third with it. That just shows you how good this team is.”

Truex qualified fifth for the event and never ran outside the top five. The closing laps featured a spirited battle between Truex, second-place finisher Cole Whitt and race winner Max Gresham. Unfortunately, Truex couldn’t advance his position and settled for third.

"It was just tough racing - short-track racing, beating and banging and doing everything you can to get to the front," said Truex. "I was kind of banking on maybe the 84 (Whitt) and the 18 (Gresham) would get in a little trouble there racing side-by-side, maybe I'd be able to slip under them. But they did a great job. It was a fun race."

The solid finish moved Truex up to fourth in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series standings, 49 markers behind Whitt.

The next event on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East calendar is May 23 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. It is a combination event with the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.

Ryan Truex, No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota, K&N Pro Series South Boston Preview

CORNELIUS, N.C. — After leading 127 laps and dominating most of the race, Ryan Truex didn’t like his 15th-place finish in Saturday night’s K&N Pro Series East race at Greenville Pickens Speedway. But history shows a slow start is only a minor detour in his bid to repeat as series champion.

Last season, Truex began his rookie campaign with a 14th-place finish at the South Carolina track then went on to capture three victories and Michael Waltrip Racing’s first championship. The 18-year-old plans to begin his 2010 comeback Saturday afternoon at the fourth-tenths mile South Boston Speedway in Virginia where the younger brother of Martin Truex Jr. is the defending polesitter.

QUOTES

ON GETTING HIS SEASON BACK ON TRACK: “It’s too early to panic but the season is only 10 races long, so you definitely don’t want to have two bad races in a row. We had a really strong car last week. If my guys can give me another strong Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota for Saturday, we should be fine.”

ON SOUTH BOSTON SPEEDWAY: “South Boston is really the place we turned our season around last year. We struggled at the beginning of the season. Then we came to South Boston and won the pole and finished third. It was a great weekend for us and we built on that momentum.”

ON DEFENDING HIS K&N SERIES TITLE: “It’s definitely different this year. Last year, no one knew who I was. Now that I’m the champion, everyone’s gunning for us. You really have to be on your game each weekend. There are a bunch of rookies in the series this year and they all want to prove that they can race with you. ”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• Last weekend at Greenville Pickens Speedway Truex started the race second and grabbed the lead on lap three. He led a race-high 127 laps before being involved in an incident on the final restart to cross the finish line 15th.

• Truex won three races and the series championship in 2009, but did not lead the most laps in any race. His first career Wix Lap Leader Award came last weekend at Greenville Pickens Speedway.

• South Boston Speedway was the site of the Mayetta, N.J., natives first career K&N Pro Series East pole. His success at South Boston last year started a string of seven-straight top-three finishes.

• Truex is the third member of his family to compete in the K&N Pro Series East. His father, Martin Truex Sr., and his brother Martin Truex Jr. also competed in the series.

• Saturday’s event marks the fourth consecutive year that South Boston Speedway has hosted a K&N Pro Series East event. The track opened in 1953.

• Truex is expected to compete in five Nationwide Series races in 2010.

East Champ Truex Commits To NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown

Three-Time 2009 Winner To Make Irwindale Debut

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 24, 2009) – NASCAR Camping World Series East Champion Ryan Truex is the first driver to confirm his intention to compete in the 2010 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown on Jan. 29-30 in Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.).

“I'm really excited about the Showdown,” Truex said. “You're racing against some of the best drivers in the country. All of those guys can drive and they have the records to prove it. If you win the Showdown, you can say you've beaten the best of the best.”

The seventh running of the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, which brings together the top racers from across North America for the ”Daytona 500 of short-track racing,” will be highlighted by the 225-lap Camping World Series all-star race. Each race winner during the 2009 Camping World Series season is eligible for a protected starting spot, as are the 2009 champions from each of NASCAR’s six regional touring series and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion.

Truex, a development driver for Michael Waltrip Racing, registered three wins and eight top 10s during the 2009 Camping World Series East season. He became just the second driver in series history, along with Joey Logano, to win the title and Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in the same season.

Logano followed up his 2007 championship season by winning the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, something Truex hopes to replicate.

“I've never raced at Irwindale before, so that adds another level of excitement for me,” Truex said. “Everyone talks about how great the track is, so I can't wait to get the NAPA Auto Parts Camry out there and see what we can do.”

The No. 00 Toyota will have a new look for the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown as team owner Michael Waltrip wanted to do something special for the event. The all-white car Truex ran during the 2009 season will be transformed to blue for Irwindale, with a paint scheme that NAPA and MWR are currently designing.

Truex, from Mayetta, N.J., plans to return to the Camping World Series East in 2010 to defend his title. MWR also intends to enter him in select NASCAR Nationwide Series races during the second half of the 2010 season. Truex does not turn 18 until next March.

In addition to eligible 2009 race winners and series champions, the starting lineup for the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown will be determined through time trials, limited provisionals for Camping World Series regulars, and the last-chance "Open" race that provides drivers one final chance to make the grid.

The 2010 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown schedule also includes 100-lap Whelen All-American Series Super Late Model and 75-lap Late Model races. Both nights of racing will air on SPEED.

For more information, contact:

Jason Cunningham, NASCAR Public Relations

Michael Waltrip to hold Fan Appreciation Day

CORNELIUS, N.C. (October 5, 2009) – Michael Waltrip announced today that he will hold his third Fan Appreciation Day at Michael Waltrip Racing (20310 Chartwell Center Drive, Cornelius, N.C.) on Wednesday, October 14th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern.

From October 5th to October 11th fans can visit www.michaelwaltrip.com to register for the opportunity to become one of 200 randomly-selected individuals to receive autographs from the following NASCAR competitors:

Michael Waltrip - - two-time Daytona 500 champion, driver of the No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota

David Reutimann - - Coca-Cola 600 champion, driver of the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry

Marcos Ambrose - - Two-time V8 Supercar champion and driver of the No. 47 Little Debbie®/Kingsford/Clorox Toyota (JTG-Daugherty Racing)

Trevor Bayne - - NASCAR Camping World East Series winner and two-time USAR Hooters Pro Cup winner and driver of the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota

Ryan Truex - - NASCAR Camping World East Series champion and three-time winner, driver of the No. 00 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota

The event kicks off at 11 a.m. The driver autograph session takes place from 11am to 1 p.m. for fans that were randomly-selected online at www.michaelwaltrip.com. For any fan attending, there will be live music/entertainment, free food and prizes. Please join us as MWR celebrates you, our fan.

Contact: Jennifer Chapple Michael

Waltrip Racing 20310 Chartwell Center Drive Cornelius, NC 28031

Phone: 704-655-9550 Cell: 704-507-8809 Fax: 704-655-9979