Activision and Target teamed up on Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway to showcase a brand new paint scheme on Martin Truex Jr.'s No. 1 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Truex, who drives for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, took some time before the race to try out the new DJ Hero game with fans at The Fan Midway across the street from the track. Before finishing in ninth place in the NASCAR Banking 500 race, Truex took some time to talk about his own video game background in this exclusive interview.
What are your thoughts on how your car looks with the new DJ Hero paint scheme?
Well, the car looks awesome. The car has looked really good for all the Guitar Hero and DJ Hero races. I've enjoyed having it, and it's one of the coolest car schemes I've ever had, so it's been fun.
How did you like playing the DJ Hero?
I enjoyed it. One of the guys from DJ Hero/Activision actually played, and I learned pretty quickly. I did the tutorial. That kinda walked me through what I needed to do, and then I picked it up pretty quick and had a good time with it. And they have some awesome songs on there, so it was really neat.
What were some of the songs that you liked from the game?
Well, I forget the name of the one I liked, they were playing it outside. It's the Gorillaz song and "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" mixed up. It's pretty cool.
What's the controller like in DJ Hero?
Well, it was cool. I've never experienced anything like that, so it was neat. It had a good sound to it. Those games are fun. I really enjoyed the Guitar Hero game and now this one. So, I need to get a set for my motor home so I can start scratching it up.
Do you think NASCAR fans will get into a game like this?
Yeah, I think a lot of fans are going to enjoy it. We have a lot of people outside the display right now, coming in the play the game and try it out. I think it's really enjoyable. The cool thing about the games is that you can link it up with Guitar Hero, you can link it up with a guitar and play. A lot of people really enjoy the challenge it presents, and you can have friends over and play together and play against each other. There are a lot of different elements to it. If you wanted, you can just set up the game and play the music if you're having people at your house or something. There are a lot of different things you can do with it, and it's a lot of fun to get people over and get people involved, and just have a good time, really.
How popular are video games with NASCAR drivers?
Well, we all play games of some sort. Well, most people do, I guess. We spend a lot time on the road, a lot of time in our motor homes, so we have a lot of down time to kill, and video games are a good way to kill time for most of us.
Have the Guitar Hero games been popular, since you can play that type of experience together?
Absolutely. Yeah, they've been popular.
Who do you normally game with?
I normally play by myself or with my girlfriend.
Do you have the whole band set up with Guitar Hero: World Tour?
Oh yeah! I've got it all set up.
What's your favorite instrument?
I like both the guitar and the drums. I'd probably say I like the guitar the most.
Do you have a favorite song you're really good at in Guitar Hero?
No, I'm pretty good at all of them, really!
What level are you playing on?
Oh, I don't play on Expert. I can't do that! I'm not that quick.
We've heard that if you play the drums on Expert you actually learn to play the real drums.
Yeah, it's pretty sick how good you actually have to be to play it. I can play on medium, but I like to just have fun with it. I don't like to get too serious, so I'm not going to step it up to Expert just yet.
You mentioned you play with your girlfriend. We're seeing more games come out that people can play with their wives and girlfriends. What are your thoughts about that whole revolution that's coming out in games?
I think it's good to bring anything that's fun. Y'know, anytime you spend quality time together, it's great.
Have you kept up with the NASCAR video games?
No, I go online with the simulators, not so much your Xbox or PlayStation type games, just because of the realism in it. Online, we can use the steering wheel and the pedals, and it's much more realistic for us, so I don't often play racing games on consoles.
Do you use the simulators for fun or to practice for upcoming races.
Mostly for fun.
Do you have the entire racing simulator set up at home? Kyle Busch mentioned that he has a complete setup in his basement.
Yeah, I have the same thing on my computer at home upstairs. Mostly in the off-season, I'll do it. You get the itch to race a little bit, and you get on there and there's actually a new game from John Henry, who owns the Boston Red Sox—he kinda part-owns the auto racing sim (iRacing.com). And it's one of the hottest things out right now, it's super-realistic and a lot of fun. There are a lot of different racecars and series you can run on there.
And you can actually race against other people online with that sim?
Yeah, there are people all over the world, and you can race against them. So, it's really getting big.
Do think that the hand-eye coordination of the younger drivers might have been helped by playing video games?
Well, it certainly doesn't hurt. When you're three, four years old and you're playing video games, that's taking your hand and eye coordination. That's what you're using to do it. So if you start that association with your hand and eye coordination at an early age, that doesn't hurt.
What were your favorite games as a kid?
Yeah, the first games I ever remember—I didn't have an Atari, but a couple of my cousins did, so I'd play at their house. I remember playing Frogger on Atari. The first game I ever had was Nintendo. Super Mario Bros. and Excitebike were the two games I remember playing when I was little.
Do you remember the first racing game that you got into?
I think it was Days of Thunder. It was either that or Bill Elliott's NASCAR Challenge. That game was pretty fun too.
Gran Turismo 5 is going to incorporate NASCAR for the first time. What do you think are the effects of racing games with the fans of NASCAR and other auto sports, where the experience goes beyond just watching it on TV?
They pick out their driver, and they pick their favorite driver's car to use, and it just kinda gets them involved, and it gives them something to be excited about, having a connection to the racing when they go to the track.
Cool. Thanks for your time.
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