By Brian T. Smith
Assistant Sports Editor / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: August 20, 2008

Full transcript of an e-mail interview between the Bristol Herald Courier and Randy Moss, New England Patriots wide receiver and half-owner of Morgan-Dollar Racing’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team. Moss’ No. 81 Kobalt Tools Chevrolet truck will be driven by NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson in tonight’s O’Reilly 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

1.) Why did you decide to pick Bristol for Jimmie Johnson to race your truck?

It really just all happened this way as all of the pieces fell into place.  Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet came to us awhile back expressing their interest in putting Jimmie in the truck at Bristol as it was something they were looking to do to help him get some more seat time. It is an honor to have a champion like Jimmie driving the No. 81 truck and hopefully we will be able to have a lot of success together this week.

2.) Why get into trucks and not NASCAR Sprint Cup or Nationwide?

I believe that you have to crawl before you can walk and I just felt it was the smartest place for me to start in this sport.  I have seen many others come into NASCAR and want to go to Cup right away and their success has not necessarily been the best.  I wanted to give myself the best avenue for success and I think this is it.

3.) How long have you wanted to participate in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series?

This is something that I have wanted to do for quite a while.  I have been a big fan of the sport for a long time and have been involved in a few other racing opportunities. I’ve sponsored a local dirt track in West Virginia and am also a Goodwill Ambassador for the Urban Youth Racing School. Supporting and being involved in the youth programs is always something that I enjoy doing and it is a major component of Randy Moss Motorsports.

4.) What do you think so far about how everything has gone in terms of being involved in Truck Series racing?

So far, racing in the Truck Series has been great. The racing that happens every week is always action-filled and it has been cool to see that 81 truck going around the track. We have had a couple of good solid runs, but we are hoping to improve our finishes and break into the top-five here soon.

5.) A lot of people don’t know that you’re from the South. Do you take pride in coming from the South and staying involved in the world of Southern sports, such as auto racing?

I take a huge amount of pride coming from West Virginia. I’m just a good Southern boy from West Virginia, who enjoys some good cooking and is proud of where he came from. Growing up, I would be outside playing football and one of our neighbors had a racecar. He would rev his engine and we would always listen to it. This was my first interaction with racing.

6.) Will trucks be enough for you or do you want to get involved in bigger things in terms of racing?

I would like to make it up to the Sprint Cup Series at some point but we will just play this thing out and see where we end up. I definitely want to work my way up the ladder and be successful, competing for wins at every level. I think this week with Jimmie is going to give us a great opportunity to get the No. 81 truck in Victory Lane.

7.) Have you been to Bristol Motor Speedway before? If so, what’s your opinion of it. If not, do you think you’ll attend the August races?
I have never been to Bristol and unfortunately I am busy in preseason training and games with the New England Patriots and I will not be attending this race.  Maybe I can get to the track at some point in the future.

8.) Is it hard to balance your NFL life with racing, or does it work well because of the NFL’s offseason?

Well, first and foremost playing in the NFL is my job. I love playing football and it has given me the opportunity to do things like own a race team in the Truck Series.  During the NFL season, football is my main priority, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t be paying attention to the action on the track. I will be watching every race and be in communication with the team. You probably won’t see me around the track during football season and hopefully I am playing football until February, but when the season is over, you will definitely see me around more.