-
Home
- TV Shows
- TV Schedule
- NASCAR
-
Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Games
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
Sprint Cup
CUP: Truex Looks Back On Strong Season
Martin Truex Jr. Chases victory in final three races…
Martin Truex Jr. is seventh in points entering Sunday’s Chase Race Eight at Texas Motor Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)
Martin Truex Jr. is rolling toward the end of what must be considered a successful season.
The year marked Truex’s second appearance in the Chase as he and his Michael Waltrip Racing teammates produced a tide-turning season all around. Clint Bowyer also made the Chase, and the team’s third car found success with a triple-team of drivers – Mark Martin, Brian Vickers and Waltrip.
Truex reached second place in points early in the season and never fell below 10th after a 12th-place run in the season-opening Daytona 500.
He’s seventh in points entering Sunday’s Chase Race Eight at Texas Motor Speedway.
The only dark spot on Truex’s season is the fact that he’s winless. He’s had seven top fives, including two second-place runs at Kansas, but he hasn’t been able to seal the deal.
Truex and Kevin Harvick are the only Chase drivers without a win this season.
“Our cars have been fast enough to win races,” Truex said Tuesday. “We just need to keep doing what we’re doing, and hopefully we’ll close the deal soon.
“We look at everything – everything I do as a driver, everything we could do differently as a team and just try to be better prepared for the next time we’re in a situation to try to hopefully make better decisions.
“Obviously, some of it comes down to just pure rotten luck. Cautions – where they fall can dictate how some of that goes. We probably have given a race or two away with decisions, but sometimes you make the right decisions and the races don’t play out.”
Truex has had a reasonably good Chase, with four of seven finishes in the top 10. His worst run – a 23rd Sunday at Martinsville – dropped him from sixth to seventh in points, but he’s only 14 points out of fifth place.
“I had a little bit better idea what to expect going in this year [after being in the Chase in 2007],” he said. “But it’s been quite a few years, and things have changed a lot. The competition level is even higher than it was then. You really have to be almost perfect. You can’t afford to have a bad race.
“It’s one of those things where momentum is a big thing. You need to be good on all different types of race tracks. … I learned a lot this year about how to be better prepared for next year going in, and if can be fortunate enough to be in the Chase and have a little bit better idea of what we need to do to make sure we don’t have those bad races again.”
Matters beyond racing were on Truex’s mind Tuesday. His hometown of Mayetta, N.J., was in the path of the huge storm that swept through the Northeast Monday night. His Martin Truex Jr. Foundation website (martintruexjrfoundation.org) is accepting donations to assist in the recovery.
“Fortunately, my family – everybody is safe, everybody is doing well, still without power, and I think they're all huddled up over at my sister's house right now playing some word games by candlelight,” Truex said. “But everybody is doing good, and we're thankful for that.
“There's been a lot of devastation in the area, a lot of trees down, no power. Obviously, we don't know how bad everything is yet until the rest of the storm passes and they can go see how it's all going, but we know there's a lot of houses that have been flooded and a lot of bad things have happened.”
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
The year marked Truex’s second appearance in the Chase as he and his Michael Waltrip Racing teammates produced a tide-turning season all around. Clint Bowyer also made the Chase, and the team’s third car found success with a triple-team of drivers – Mark Martin, Brian Vickers and Waltrip.
Truex reached second place in points early in the season and never fell below 10th after a 12th-place run in the season-opening Daytona 500.
He’s seventh in points entering Sunday’s Chase Race Eight at Texas Motor Speedway.
The only dark spot on Truex’s season is the fact that he’s winless. He’s had seven top fives, including two second-place runs at Kansas, but he hasn’t been able to seal the deal.
Truex and Kevin Harvick are the only Chase drivers without a win this season.
“Our cars have been fast enough to win races,” Truex said Tuesday. “We just need to keep doing what we’re doing, and hopefully we’ll close the deal soon.
“We look at everything – everything I do as a driver, everything we could do differently as a team and just try to be better prepared for the next time we’re in a situation to try to hopefully make better decisions.
“Obviously, some of it comes down to just pure rotten luck. Cautions – where they fall can dictate how some of that goes. We probably have given a race or two away with decisions, but sometimes you make the right decisions and the races don’t play out.”
Truex has had a reasonably good Chase, with four of seven finishes in the top 10. His worst run – a 23rd Sunday at Martinsville – dropped him from sixth to seventh in points, but he’s only 14 points out of fifth place.
“I had a little bit better idea what to expect going in this year [after being in the Chase in 2007],” he said. “But it’s been quite a few years, and things have changed a lot. The competition level is even higher than it was then. You really have to be almost perfect. You can’t afford to have a bad race.
“It’s one of those things where momentum is a big thing. You need to be good on all different types of race tracks. … I learned a lot this year about how to be better prepared for next year going in, and if can be fortunate enough to be in the Chase and have a little bit better idea of what we need to do to make sure we don’t have those bad races again.”
Matters beyond racing were on Truex’s mind Tuesday. His hometown of Mayetta, N.J., was in the path of the huge storm that swept through the Northeast Monday night. His Martin Truex Jr. Foundation website (martintruexjrfoundation.org) is accepting donations to assist in the recovery.
“Fortunately, my family – everybody is safe, everybody is doing well, still without power, and I think they're all huddled up over at my sister's house right now playing some word games by candlelight,” Truex said. “But everybody is doing good, and we're thankful for that.
“There's been a lot of devastation in the area, a lot of trees down, no power. Obviously, we don't know how bad everything is yet until the rest of the storm passes and they can go see how it's all going, but we know there's a lot of houses that have been flooded and a lot of bad things have happened.”
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
Shake and Bake: Recent Posts
-
Race Day Blog: Sights and Sounds From the Sprint All-Star Race »
-
Daryl Wright Breaks It Down With Pit Road Rapper Kenyatta Houston »
-
Daryl ' Vodkatime ' Wright Takes To Charlotte Motor Speedway »
-
Brad Keselowski's All-Star Car Features Awkward Kyle Busch Photo »
-
Kyle Busch Kicks Off All-Star Weekend With Trucks Win »
-
Dale Earnhardt Sr., Father of the All-Star Paint Scheme »
-
Charlotte Television Schedule: Sprint All-Star Weekend »
-
Trickle Was A Legend »
Kansas Speedway
LATEST HEADLINES: NASCAR
-
CUP: Johnson Destroys Another Format
For a record fourth time, Jimmie Johnson rolls home first in Sprint… -
CUP: Busches Falter In Final Shootout
Kyle, Kurt Busch lose top spots on pit road prior to 10-lap finale…… -
CUP: Johnson Sets Record With All-Star Win
Jimmie Johnson is now the only four-time winner of the Sprint All-Star… -
CUP: Saturday Charlotte Notebook (UPDATE 14)
Jimmie Johnson wins the the All-Star Race... -
CUP: McMurray, Stenhouse Advance To All-Star
Jamie McMurray dominates Showdown to move into All-Star field with… -
EXCLUSIVE: Kahne Says He And Kyle Busch Are Cool
Kasey Kahne spun out racing Kyle Busch for the lead at Darlington… -
CUP: JGR Heavily Favored, But No Slam Dunk
Joe Gibbs Racing is five-for-five on intermediate-length tracks this… - More News
