Rob Kauffman lives in London, England. But he insists if folks only take the time to get to know him, he's "less an international man of mystery and more like Basic Rob."

He also provides much of the money behind what is an improving Sprint Cup Series operation at Michael Waltrip Racing. He recently sat down with a small group, including NASCAR.COM, to discuss all aspects of his substantial monetary investment in the sport and how it differs from his "day job" handling European investments for Fortress Investment Group.

Q: Would you say you have the patience for this gig?

Kauffman: I think most people who do would not describe me as being the most patient individual. But at the same time, you're trying to compete against people who have been doing this for 20 years. I had breakfast with Michael (before the Coca-Cola 600) and (told him), 'You're three years in, so it's going to take time to gel.' It's not a matter of throwing money at it; it's not a matter of finding the secret sauce. I think it's a matter of getting the people to work better together.

Q: So what specifically do you think you need to do to start running up front more?

Kauffman: In this sort of racing, you can't make any mistakes. It's a split second in this business. You can't make any mistakes on pit road; you can't make a bad call; and you need a little bit of good luck. You have to be in position to take advantage of good luck.

So it's a combination of things across the board; you're not going to be able to flip a switch and have it be like magic and that's it. It's getting almost everything right, getting nothing really wrong, and having a little bit of good luck. That's the combination you need. (Continued)