Scott Wimmer drives the No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge for Bill Davis Racing. Credit: Autostock

Conversation: Bill Davis

Bill Davis traded on a long relationship with veteran racer Mark Martin when he became a NASCAR team owner in the late 1980s, but since then Davis, in conjunction with his wife, Gail, has made a distinctive mark in the sport on his own.

Bill Davis Racing won the 2002 Daytona 500 with Ward Burton, scored numerous Busch Series wins with Scott Wimmer and became only the fifth owner in NASCAR history to win in all three national touring series when Mike Skinner won in the Craftsman Truck Series two weeks ago at Bristol.

Davis took time while in California to talk to NASCAR.COM senior writer Dave Rodman about his Craftsman Truck team's breakthrough and its historic victory at Bristol, the future of BDR's Cup teams and the place motorcycle riding holds in his and wife Gail's lives.

	Gail and Bill Davis won the 2002 Daytona 500. Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
	Inside the Numbers Bill Davis Racing (career wins) Series Wins Driver Cup 5 W. Burton Busch 3 M. Martin   3 J. Gordon   5 S. Wimmer Truck 1 M. Skinner

Q: Bill, with racing, the trucking company and your ranching project, you've always got a lot of irons in the fire -- so what's keeping you the busiest these days?

Davis: For many years now, the race team has been my focus. Fortunately, at the cattle company we've got a great manager that handles all that -- and the same thing at the trucking company.

We've got a great bunch of people that do a great job of not only managing the operation, but also doing the day-to-day stuff like loading the trucks and all that.

My focus now, and probably what it always will be, is on the race team.

Q: Is it pretty special to be able to do something you love so much, but also make a successful business out of it?

Davis: Well, I'm the most fortunate guy on earth, in that I've always been able to make my living doing a dream. When I was a little kid I loved big trucks. My dad was involved in retail truck sales and I just thought they were the coolest things on earth.

So I was able to carve out a career and I've been doing that for about 30 years now and I've been successful at it.

And then, to go on and to be able to race [is great]. I've always loved to race. I raced motocross myself and did some drag racing.

Then, I hooked up with Mark Martin and his dad when they still owned their race teams and my dad and I went along with them for years as weekend warriors.

And then, of course for Mark to make it possible for us to come to NASCAR as car owners and to be somewhat successful at that -- I've always described it as just being able to live my dreams.

I grew up with my granddad in the cattle business and now we have a wonderful cattle operation that I take great pride in. It's a very sophisticated cattle operation that's genetically driven and I'm real proud of what we're doing there.

I always say it beats the real world -- to be able to do what I've done for the last 30 or 35 years.

Q: When you mention your granddad being involved in the cattle industry, and you being in racing a long time -- how interesting do you find how sophisticated everything has become?

	Bill Davis Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
	BILL DAVIS RACING •   Bill Davis Team Page •   Scott Wimmer Driver Page •   Mike Skinner Driver Page •   Johnny Benson Driver Page •   Bill Lester Driver Page

Davis: Yeah, I think back and my grandfather was a pretty sophisticated cattleman -- he was very progressive.

Were he to come to my place now and see how we're flushing embryos out of certain cows, and we've got recip [recipient] cows that we transfer embryos into and we'll have as many as 30 or 35 calves a year out of one cow.

We genetically match our bulls and cows, and the bulls that we raise now, the data that we use, ultra-scans to measure the ribeyes and the inner muscle and the fat -- and to know which calves to send to the feed lot because we know they're going to grade where we need them to grade.

Yeah -- the world has become a very sophisticated place.

Q: I don't even want to go there if we were to start talking about engineering racecar drivers.

Davis: Yeah, really. That's scary.

Q: With natural disasters and fuel prices being big news items these days, how is that all affecting Bill Davis Trucking?

Davis: I think the disaster we've got in New Orleans right now, I think, is one of the largest we've ever had -- and I think it's going to grow in the days to come.

I just think the magnitude of that is going to become more and more apparent as we go forward. I really feel for those people and, even though there are little things you can do to help, I wish there were more things that we could do.

But yeah, the fuel price deal is ridiculous, is my word for it. Our president needs to step up and do something about it, because there is no reason for it.

Diesel fuel being higher priced than gasoline? That's absurd. It never has been and never should be [because] it's not nearly as refined a product as gasoline and it's crazy that the American public is being ripped off -- because all those costs are just being passed on to the consumer.

Scott Wimmer Credit: Autostock

Inside the Numbers Scott Wimmer's 2005 Cup stats Race Start Finish Daytona 16 33 Fontana 27 16 Las Vegas 28 27 Atlanta 33 20 Bristol 32 27 Martinsville 33 31 Fort Worth 36 42 Phoenix 36 32 Talladega 17 37 Darlington 33 25 Richmond 34 20 Charlotte 32 23 Dover 35 31 Pocono 11 36 Michigan 22 16 Sonoma 27 25 Daytona 26 32 Chicago 30 17 Loudon 32 35 Pocono 11 25 Indianapolis 26 26 Watkins Glen 34 21 Michigan 22 23 Bristol 32 14 Fontana 27 31 Avg. 27.7 26.6

Transportation is a big part of our lives and it's very, very unfair what's happening right now.

Q: For your Nextel Cup teams in 2006, what are you in a position to say about what the makeup of the teams might be, and where are you at with sponsorship?

Davis: Of course, Caterpillar is in for the long haul. They've been a great partner of ours for a lot of years and hopefully for a lot of years to come.

Like most sponsors in [Nextel Cup], they've got a great program that works for them and it's built around relationships -- bringing their customers to the racetrack and entertaining them.

They've had some great years in terms of performance, and won some races -- they won the Daytona 500. But they want to see better performance and they are politely concerned about that -- and interested in what the future holds.

On the [No.] 22 side, we're looking at some different options and hoping to improve that. We're very close to hopefully being able to make an announcement about the second team -- that it will be back on track in a situation that we're real excited about.

Hopefully it works out and it happens, because it will certainly help get Bill Davis Racing, on the Cup side, back to where it needs to be.

Q: Scott Wimmer was real successful in your Busch car, and has shown improvement on the Cup side as well. If the second team becomes completely viable, is it possible he would switch over to it?

Davis: We fully expect Scott to remain with the organization -- I don't think he'll be switching. We've had a lot of success with Scott and he certainly did the deal on the Busch side -- there's no reason to believe that he can't over here.

You know, you have to be fair to Scott in that we are a single-car team and due to the situation that we're in [a contract dispute with Dodge], we don't have manufacturer support and we certainly don't have the biggest sponsor there is in the garage.

So those are all things that add up and they are strikes against you. So as we get some of those things fixed and get closer back to where we need to be, hopefully we'll be able to make Scott successful over here [in Nextel Cup)] like he was in the Busch car.

Will the No. 23 be a full-time Cup ride in '06? Credit: Autostock

Q: It's been good to see that No. 23 car out there with the Discovery Channel's AutoManiac Sponsorship, but even better than that for you is the chance to work with Goldberg. How has that experience been for you?

Davis: Oh, he's been a hoot. We've really enjoyed him. They're great and we've enjoyed having Goldberg around. The TV show is a real cool show and I hope people are watching it because it's cool.

I've enjoyed the show and I've enjoyed working with him. There is a strong possibility that that whole deal will be back for a limited schedule because we don't foresee that it could be a full schedule, but they like [Mike] Skinner and they like the way he races for them, and the things that he does for them.

Hopefully we'll have them back for at least some of the major races next year.

Q: We get a lot of e-mails from people who would like to see Ward Burton back in a racecar, and not to revisit what went on back when you guys split up, have you had any chance to communicate with him?

Davis: No, Ward and I haven't communicated any. I ran into him at Texas and we just exchanged pleasantries for a moment. I did notice that he and Ryan Newman have got something going with the wildlife foundation -- a giveaway deal or a fund-raiser that's a chance to win a boat.

I think Ward's been real active in the wildlife foundation like he always has been. That's his love and that's where he wants to be. That's certainly what he wants to be doing with his time, so I'd be willing to bet he's pretty happy.

	Scott Wimmer, left, and Ward Burton Credit: Wimmer: Autostock; Burton: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images
	Inside the Numbers Scott Wimmer career Series No. W T-5 T-10 Cup 70 0 1 3 Busch 104 5 17 37

Q: When you look at veteran drivers like Ward, versus the influx of new, young talent coming in, how do you balance choosing a veteran driver against a young kid?

Davis: I think the sport, as a whole needs to be real careful. It's real easy to monkey-see, monkey-do and jump out to get the next -- whomever that may be.

We're seeing some failures, if you will, or some situations that haven't worked out with young guys in Cup and certainly in Busch -- the news was full with a couple of those this week -- so I think it's real easy to get caught up in what everybody else is doing, and doing it all at once.

There are a lot of veteran guys out there that can still get it done. They know how to race these cars.

Q: You talked about racing with Mark Martin previously, and how you first raced in the Busch Series with Mark. Now, his career has come to the point of doing his 'Salute to You' tour, so talk a little about Mark and his career, and how if you're living the dream, do you think he's paralleling you in doing that?

Davis: Yeah, I think it's fair for me to take a certain amount of pride in Mark's career and in what little I did to help move it along.

Mark and I grew up with our fathers, sitting in the grandstands at Daytona and Talladega and Atlanta and Nashville -- as kids, and thinking that we could do this, that we could race these cars.

My dad and I certainly contributed what we could in the early days to help him, in traveling with him to race. And then later I went to work for Mark's father, Julian [at his trucking company].

I owe all of my success in trucking to Julian Martin. He taught me how to truck, he co-signed for my first pieces of equipment and loaned me the money that it took to go into business.

He taught me how to be successful in trucking, and the flip side of that is, Mark taught me how to race, and he opened all these doors for me down here. I certainly wouldn't be here without Mark.

I take a lot of pride in what Mark has accomplished and I've got a lot of admiration for the fact that he got beaten down several times and he never gave up.

Mark Martin recorded three wins, 11 top-fives and 19 top-10s racing for Bill Davis in the Busch Series. Credit: Autostock

Mark wasn't -- well, he was a rich kid, but he wasn't a rich kid that got everything given to him. He worked every day and every night in the shop, and Julian made him absolutely learn how to do everything there was to do on the car, and he did and did it.

When he was a little kid, he got out of high school and he shipped him up to Larry Phillips' shop in Missouri and he learned how to build A-frames and how to build chassis.

And then he went to Ray Dillon's. Mark worked, and he worked really hard and he was totally focused. For everything he's accomplished and everything that he's gotten, I'm real proud of him.

And hopefully it is a 'Salute to You' tour and he's not going to do that [race in Nextel Cup next season for Jack Roush]. He said what he wanted to do, he and his family were happy with that and I think those two ought to leave him alone.

Q: Knowing Julian as well as you did and knowing Mark as long as you have, is it fair to say that Mark is kind of the image of his dad? I wasn't lucky enough to have known him.

Davis: Oh yeah, he is. And I wish everybody could have known Julian Martin, because he was one of the most unique individuals that ever walked the face of this earth.

He could be the biggest SOB one minute and turn around and absolutely be the most generous the next minute, so yeah -- Julian was a great man and a smart man.

He pushed and he made opportunities possible for Mark and I both. You know, he made it possible for me when he said, 'If you want to truck and you want to be a successful trucker, well here's the opportunity -- but you're going to have to work 20 hours a day and seven days a week.'

It was the same for Mark. He said, 'You want to race, fine: Here's the money, and here's the stuff. We'll go do it, but you're going to work and you're going to learn how to do it yourself.'

When we lost Julian in the [airplane] accident, there were so many people who came up to Mark and Glenda, his sister and said, 'You know, Julian loaned me the money for a down payment on my house,' or 'Julian co-signed for the first truck I ever owned.'

He was absolutely one of the most giving and generous people that I've ever known.

Q: In your Craftsman Truck team, Mike Skinner scored a pretty big win for him, at Bristol -- but it was pretty significant for Bill and Gail Davis as well, wasn't it, since you've now won in all three of NASCAR's major series?

Davis: For all that team -- for Mike and Angie [Skinner] and [crew chief] Jeff Hensley and Chad [Rainey] and Goose [Burger] and all the guys on that team who have worked so hard on that car and truck and done such a good job.

	Mike Skinner (5) gave owner Bill Davis the NASCAR triple. Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Bill Davis Racing (Truck Series 2005) Driver W T-5 T-10 Points M. Skinner 1 7 9 7 J. Benson 0 3 7 13 B. Lester 0 1 3 18 Note: Thru 17 races

I mean, those guys have shown up, many, many weeks this year and just kicked butt -- sat on the pole and led the most laps, and then either beat themselves or had some bad luck.

They could have easily won about five, just like that one the other night -- the week before they dominated Nashville and a guy blows up in front of them with 15 laps to go and they get in the oil.

So to finally get it done, hopefully they're going to go ahead and win some more races this year. It's a big deal for Mike, and certainly for Jeff Hensley, who's a great guy and works really hard and deserves that success.

But yeah, for Gail and I [it's big, because] there are five team owners that have done that. It's a pretty big-name bunch of people, with the people that have, so that's something that you can sit on the rocking chair on the porch and remember about and talk about -- that you were the fifth car owner that did that -- that won in all three [national] touring series.

So we're real proud of it, and proud of where the truck teams are. We have probably underachieved, with what Toyota has done for us and the opportunity that they've given us, we haven't won like we should have, so maybe this will get them all going and we'll do what we need to do.

Q: Johnny Benson has been close and Bill Lester has been fast all year, so especially going to a place like Richmond next, do you feel like this Bristol win might open up the floodgates, so to speak?

Davis: Yeah, any three of those guys could win. Bill has really had a breakthrough this year and he's become a legitimate contender. He's got the most competitive team that he's had and he and Doug Wolcott are really clicking and getting along.

He's got a second-year team behind him -- guys that have worked with him for two years now and of course, with what Toyota does and the equipment they give us is phenomenal, so really, any of the three [could win].

Johnny, gosh -- after the way that he took off last year and all, we thought that he'd be a championship contender this year, and probably should have been if not for a little bit of a problem there with leadership.

But we've got that turned around and have got Rick Ren calling the shots on that thing now and Rick's certainly a proven winner and a championship builder in that series, so I'm looking for good things out of all three teams.

Hopefully, we're going to keep them all three together next year just like they are and get our sponsorships all in place. I think we're real close on all three of them and yeah, I'm excited about all the things that we can do next year.

Q: Do you anticipate Bill Davis Racing having a lead role as Toyota heads toward racing in a car division in NASCAR, and have you gone as far as to already have built cars for them?

Davis: Obviously, we've been Toyota's partner through the whole process and when they make the decision and all, to go car racing obviously we'd like to have the consideration to be involved in that.

We certainly think that we've earned it, though we could have won them a few more truck races, and that might have helped -- but maybe we'll get that turned around, now.

But yeah, that would be our viewpoint. Hopefully when that decision is made, and they do have a plan and when they make their plan that they're going car racing, we would hope to be involved in that.

Q: Finally, please tell me that you and Gail have had a chance to ride the Harleys a little bit?

Davis: Well (laughing), she just rode the [Kyle Petty] Charity Ride. Oh, I'm not supposed to say the year, but that was her birthday present. And one of her big accomplishments in life, as you know, is her late arrival on the motorcycle-riding scene.

That's something she takes a great deal of pride in. So she rode the Charity Ride this year, and I flew out and rode with them for a day and a half. I kind of cheated and went out and rode the Cody, Wyoming to Deadwood and down through Needles and [Mount] Rushmore.

I kind of cashed in on the best two days. But yeah -- we've ridden some. We didn't do a good job last year. We managed to stay way too busy but Kyle and Matt Kenseth and Jeff Green and their wives -- [Ken] Schrader, he went -- and we all rode from Texas to Phoenix this spring.

I think we're going to do it again this fall, and I think Kyle is even talking about maybe going from Phoenix to Homestead. We've talked about that every year -- just a marathon, banzai run.

I think I might be up for it -- I don't know -- but yeah, we've ridden a little bit more this year and we continue to promise ourselves that we're going to do better.