Martin Truex is the future at DEI, but the veteran he will replace has plans in place too.
By BRANT JAMES
Published April 25, 2004
TALLADEGA, Ala. - Michael Waltrip's replacement dresses like his boss, acts like his boss and lives in his boss' house. He plays video games with him. And, like his boss, he's a junior.
When Dale Earnhardt Inc., owned by Dale Jr.'s stepmother, Teresa, opted not to run a full-time third Nextel Cup program and applied the assets to a Chance 2 Busch series team Dale Jr. co-owns, it put 23-year-old Martin Truex Jr. in the car, a guy it had hired last year without as much as a tryout.
So Waltrip might have had reason to feel insecure. In fact, a man less certain of what he wants from the next five years of his NASCAR career and beyond would be inclined to suspicion, or even resentment.
After all, Waltrip, who turns 41 Friday, has made his most important contributions to Dale Earnhardt Inc. in restrictor-plate races, winning four (his only career victories) since 2001. His drafting help has often been crucial to teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. But there are just four such races in the 36-event Nextel Cup schedule, and even Waltrip admitted after qualifying second for today's Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway that "the cars are that good where we can be successful without each other."
But according to DEI director of motorsports Richie Gilmore, there is no insecurity, no acrimony between the race team and Waltrip, because there are no "secret agendas." Though Gilmore said he wants to keep Waltrip "as long as we can," everyone knows DEI ultimately wants Truex in Waltrip's No.15 Chevrolet.
"I think Michael has been great with that," Gilmore said. "Besides Junior, he's been one of Martin's No.1 fans. We've had that conversation about one day putting Martin in that car down the road when Michael moves on. And Michael supports that."
It helps that Waltrip is too busy looking ahead to look behind.
Waltrip, who owns a Busch team he runs out of a shop in his back yard, will field a Nextel Cup team for five races this season with veteran Kenny Wallace driving. That's the first step of a master plan in which Waltrip sees himself phasing out of DEI and into a role as full-time owner.
That view is consistent with the DEI theme, which like most things there germinated with Dale Earnhardt Sr. While still driving for Richard Childress Racing, the late seven-time champion founded DEI with the intent his children - Dale Jr., 29, Kelly, 31 and Kerry, 34 - would race for and eventually run it.
"I'd like to think that in five years I could have a Cup team or two that competes on a regular basis," Waltrip said. "I'd like to continue to run Busch for myself and continue to run for DEI until that deal runs itself out, maybe have a Cup team where somebody else would drive for me. I've enjoyed owning and developing a team more than people know.
Junior, meanwhile, has taken more of an interest in business decisions in Chance 2, according to Gilmore, including developing the next generation of talent. Kelly Earnhardt helps run Dale Jr.'s daily business affairs.
"Teresa has kind of done this partnership with him to let him learn the business," Gilmore said, "because the focus down the line is to go to Dale, Kelly and Kerry and I think this is a part of that, to learn the business."
Part of that is breaking in Truex, who won three Busch North series titles driving for his family team. Saturday's Busch race at Talladega, won by Truex with Earnhardt second, had the look of a preview of coming attractions.
Gilmore said Truex could run some Cup races this season in the DEI No.1 Chevrolet formerly driven part-time by John Andretti. It would be the next chance taken by a team that has shown willingness to gamble on Truex from the beginning of their association. A longtime friend of Gilmore's who worked on Truex's Busch team recommended the New Jersey native, and after a meeting at Watkins Glen last spring, Gilmore decided to pitch him as the driver for the full-time "farm team" Earnhardt wanted to start.
"The next week we were going to Richmond to test and Martin had his own car and Junior was testing the Chance 2 car. They got talking, hit it off, became good friends," Gilmore said. "Junior says, "Why don't you get in this car and try it?' Martin said, "All right.' It started raining and Martin was kind of heartbroken. So Junior said, "Heck with it, why don't you come race it at the next Richmond race?"'
Truex led 11 laps in that race before succumbing to engine failure.
"Junior showed a lot of faith in Richie's opinion," Truex said. "That was pretty cool."
Truex rewarded the faith by finishing second in the last two races of the season. He was second at Rockingham this spring and gave a beaming Earnhardt his first win as an owner three races ago at Bristol. "He had a real confidence about him, not a cockiness but a confidence," Earnhardt said of Truex. "He had a real assurance."
The success didn't surprise Truex.
"That's part of having a good team," Truex said. "I feel like I'm a good enough driver to get the job done, so that's why they hired me."
