NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Asked for the guys he thought would be championship contenders for 2010, the first name out of his mouth was Martin Truex Jr.

It’s a major moment for Michael Waltrip Racing, which began in 2007 as a fledgling team that had to overcome a lot just to get on the race track. Adding Truex Jr. and crew chief Pat Tryson for 2010 was a big step for the group as a whole.

“Interesting,” Truex says, upon learning he had been tapped by Gordon as a Chase contender. “I feel the same way, and that’s a great compliment.

“This is my best opportunity and the best situation I’ve ever been in,” he adds. “The relationship between Pat (Tryson) and I has come together in just a few weeks. With the support that they get here from Toyota, the level of how Toyota and MWR work together, that’s been a real eye-opener for me. Their equipment is great, they build great race cars and so far, it’s been really good.”

For team owner Waltrip, it was the result of a lot of hard work, a fair amount of blood, sweat and tears and the latest iteration of a logical progression.

“Quite frankly, when we went into 2009, we didn’t think of ourselves as Chase contenders, “ he says. “We didn’t have anything to base that on. We had made all the races in ’08; that was progress. We had gotten all three cars in the top 35 points, which was a lot better than ’07.

“But, can you take those couple facts and say, ‘we’re going to be Chase guys?’ No. So in ’09, we just said we’re gaining on it and we’re going to be better this year.

“Now, if you base ’10 on what we did in ’09, then Jeff Gordon is right. We can be Chase contenders and it feels good to hear a champion of his caliber say that. I’m with Jeff on this one. It feels good.”

Bringing on Truex, a two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion, and Tryson, crew chief for the Penske Racing car that made the Chase in 2009, is also a validation of MWR’s policies, says team general manager Ty Norris.

“The number one thing is for us is, it starts to give us more and more credibility,” he says. “Martin’s youth, plus Pat’s experience and his background of success, give all three of our cars the opportunity to showcase what we’ve been doing here at MWR.

“Martin coming on board is almost like a validation sticker that says, “I’m a young driver; I’ve been in the Chase, won races, won poles, been a two-time Nationwide Series champion; I can probably go a lot of different places.” For him to come here was one of the extraordinarily key moments in an organization’s life.

“If he’s as successful as we think he can be, plus David Reutimann continues to get better and Marcos Ambrose has a great sophomore season, there’s not a driver in any camp, nor any future driver that wouldn’t look at MWR and say, ‘I would like to drive there.’”

Tryson comes to MWR with a well-deserved reputation for taking different drivers to the next level, and Waltrip is a big fan of his newest employee.

“Pat Tryson is just the perfect crew chief for MWR,” Waltrip says. “He appreciates the engineering support and he’s a sleeves-rolled-up, mechanical racer kind of guy. To have him come here and be on our team, with the knowledge that he has and where he came from, and to have him look at MWR and say, ‘Y’all have the parts and pieces to go and win races right now…’ That’s rewarding. I’m very happy that he’s here.”

Norris says that Tryson and Truex are the perfect mix in terms of personality as well.

“You don’t have two high-strung guys,” he says. “Martin’s very laid-back, very mellow. Pat is confident in the situation he’s experienced so far, and he has a very out-going personality and he’s super in control. Martin will have a supporter, not a detractor. If you have two laid-back guys or two high-strung guys, that can create an issue. Those two personalities should mesh to be successful.”

Based on Truex’s opinion of the first test the two had at Atlanta a couple of weeks ago, it’s already happened.

“I enjoy his personality; he’s a lot of fun to be around and the guys on the team really respect him,” Truex says. “I certainly do. We had a great test in Atlanta, and the group is fired up, excited. I felt like I worked with Pat before, it went so well.”

Tryson, for his part, is excited about his new gig, too.

“We’re both from up north, and I know he likes to have fun, but he also likes to go fast,” Tryson says of Truex. “It makes it a little easier, but we also understand there’s a time to work. The Atlanta test was awesome, and hopefully it will continue to grow from there.

“Martin needs us to do a great job of giving him great race cars. That’s the key. He’s proven that he can drive, and it is a matter of him doing it week in and week out in great equipment. Somebody has to catch Hendrick, and we’re hoping that it’s us that does it.

“You’re going to have to beat them some time, so you might as well start now.”

If they take it to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in 2010, as Jeff Gordon predicts they can, then MWR will have gotten to the top of a mountain that seemed impossible to climb back in '07.

“That’s always been our challenge,” says Norris. “Some people are not convinced. You can’t convince them until you do it on the track consistently. We did it with David last year, we saw a great deal of consistency with Marcos toward the end of the last season, and what you’ll see with Martin and Pat at the beginning of the season, the first five or eight races, is going to be a validation of what we’ve been doing.”