September 15, 2009
Ty Norris on Sirius Talking About Pat Tryson, Truex, etc...
Ty Norris, general manager of Michael Waltrip Racing, was on Sirius this morning. He started off talking about hiring Pat Tryson as crew chief for the #56 next season. They felt like Martin Truex, Jr. coming on-board was an opportunity to upgrade the program with every piece of ammunition they could get. Steve Hallam and Cal Wells put together a list of what they were looking for in a crew chief to make Truex a Chase contender. They looked at who had the best on-track record and who was interested and Tryson was at the top of the list. He told them that he really wanted to make a change.
Martin and Michael were involved in the discussions about who would be crew chief of the #56. The process was very deep. They interviewed four different candidates. It was difficult for Martin to be part of the process because he has such a good relationship with Bono Manion and that's the only crew chief he's ever worked with on this level. However, it appeared to them (MWR) that it was time to go in a different direction for Martin. Sounds to me like Martin would have liked to have brought Bono with him to MWR but MWR had other ideas.
They looked at leadership qualities for one. Pat commands his guys and they respect him. He doesn't get flustered and doesn't have a temper, though Ty was quick to note (probably with Michael in mind) that he loves a temper because it shows passion (I agree!). Pat is a good motivator and has a good track record. He listens to everything presented to him from the driver and engineers.
Pat owes it to Penske Racing and to Kurt Busch to try to win a Championship and that's where his focus will be for the rest of the year. They won't be talking to him about race cars. Same thing with Truex, he has races to win. They've been doing data analysis since last May about where they needed to be to get the cars in the Chase and since then they've been addressing their gaps and fixing their woes. When they all get together in December and January (with Pat and Truex) they'll be ready for next year.
MWR has reinvented themselves as an organization. They have a bright future under their roof.
They talked to Michael last year about his future and knew that Martin would be a free agent this year. They talked with NAPA in December and January about going after Truex.
Michael is at the shop every day. He works out there and his office is right there so they see him walking around in his underwear! He goes to all the competition meetings and is very involved. This is Michael's passion and it's all he has (compared to some owners who have dealerships or other business interests). Michael spends a tremendous amount of time there and has dedicated his life to racing.
Words can't describe David Reutimann. They've watched him grow since DW's truck team and it's like watching a child grow up even though he's just a few years younger than Ty. Watching him mature as a driver is remarkable. They've never run well at Atlanta but David finished top five and it put a smile on his face. JTG invested a lot in Marcos Ambrose and Marcos has been loyal. Tad G. just smiles when someone tells him how amazing it is how well Marcos is doing because he knew how good Marcos would be. It's a pleasure to have Marcos around because he smiles all the time and it just like he seems to be on TV.
Posted by silverdsl at 09:32 AM | Comments (0)