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CUP: Truex Unhappy With Team
Written by: Tom Jensen   
07/03/2008
Daytona Beach, Fla.
 
Martin Truex Jr. made it clear he was not happy with his team at Daytona International Speedway.(Jason Smith/Getty Images Photo) ยป More Photos

Martin Truex Jr. was furious with his Dale Earnhardt Inc. team Thursday after was car was seized by NASCAR officials because it failed to fit the critical roof templates, which are keys to the aerodynamic performance of the car.

The immediate effects were obvious enough: Truex was forced to go to a backup after his primary car was taken prior to Thursday’s opening round of practice for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. His DEI team could not get the car ready in time to make the first of only two rounds of practice, which put Truex far behind the other drivers. In fact, of the 45 cars entered in Saturday’s race, Truex’s No. 1 DEI Chevrolet was the only one that failed to make a single lap in the first practice session.

And that had the Mayetta, N.J., native irked.

Asked what the team told him was the problem, Truex said, “Something about the roof template. I don’t know. I guess NASCAR wasn’t happy with the way it fit. It’s their ballgame, it’s their call. They took the car. We’re trying to get our backup (car) ready, they had to put an engine in it and get everything ready.”

And he made it clear he was not happy with his team. “Somebody made a big mistake,” said Truex, who is expected to leave
DEI after his contract expires at the end of 2008. “That shouldn’t happen at this level of auto racing, but people make mistakes. We’ll go on. Hopefully we’ll make the second practice.”

Asked about the effect of missing practice, Truex added, “We’re an hour behind. … It’s tough when you miss practice. Two hours of practice isn’t much to begin with, you miss one hour and it’s tough to catch up if you’re not right.”

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to


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