Perhaps no one in NASCAR has a more fitting sponsor than Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.

That's because Truex is the self-professed best fisherman in the Sprint Cup garage. He talked 1-on-1 recently about all things fishing.

Q: Obviously you have a great passion for fishing. Why do you love it so much?

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It's not like -- as I think you've said -- getting a bucket of beer and just sitting there. It's about finding the fish, catching 'em and staying on top of it.

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MARTIN TRUEX JR.

Truex: Well, I grew up fishing [in and around his hometown of Mayetta, N.J.]. I did a lot of salt-water and fresh-water fishing. I did all of the salt-water stuff with my dad and my uncles, because they always had a boat and we would go out in the bay or in the ocean fishing. I would always go with them when I could.

But I got into fresh-water fishing because I didn't have a boat, wasn't old enough to drive. So I would grab my bait-and-tackle box, hop on my bike, and ride to the nearest lake. Where I grew up, that was Ocean Acres Lake at a golf club.

Q: Was it a lake or a pond?

Truex: It was a lake. Not real big, but pretty big. I fished a lot there. It's just something I always enjoyed, from when I was little. I can remember my grandfather taking me when I couldn't have been more than 5 years old.

Q: How often do you go fishing now?

Truex: I actually go more during the season than in the offseason. The offseason, it's wintertime and cold out there -- and I'm not too into that cold stuff.

Q: Well, you could go somewhere, you know. Like maybe Florida?

Truex: Well, yeah. But I usually do hunting trips in the wintertime. In the spring and the summer, I fish all the time. I live on Lake Norman [just outside Charlotte] and I have a bass boat that I got from Bass Pro, obviously.

I really enjoy it. I've fished in a lot of tournaments, and I've won a couple of them. I won [Ryan] Newman's tournament that he had this winter [on Lake Norman]. I like the challenge of it. It's a lot tougher than people think. It's not like -- as I think you've said -- getting a bucket of beer and just sitting there. It's about finding the fish, catching 'em and staying on top of it. (Continued)