Martin Truex Jr. doesn’t believe two-stop strategy is viable

When Kurt Busch won the Toyota/Save Mart 350 in 2011, he did so by conserving fuel and finishing the race with two pit stops, one less than the other drivers he was racing for the win.

But Martin Truex Jr., who won his only Sonoma race two years later, doesn’t believe a two-stop strategy – essentially dividing the race into thirds – can produce a victory at the 1.99-mile road course at this juncture.

“I feel like, each year, it’s gotten harder to pull that off,” Truex said on Thursday at a luncheon in San Francisco sponsored by Sonoma raceway. “The last two seasons, it’s been three stops, so I would say two stops is impossible, but you never know.”

Strategy aside, Truex considers Sonoma one of the most enjoyable tracks in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

“I love coming out here, I love road course racing, and certainly Sonoma is an amazing track,” said the reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion. “Driver skill really comes into player here, and the driver can make a huge difference at this race track.

“That’s one of the reasons I enjoy it, and a lot of the other drivers do as well. Then you have those crazy restarts and two- or three-wide for three or four laps in a row on restarts. It’s just a great road course, a lot of fun to drive, and hopefully we’ll get a shot at victory number two.”

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.