Pocono pivotal to Truex

LONG POND, PA - AUGUST 02: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, prepares to drive during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GoBowling.com 400 at Pocono Raceway on August 2, 2013 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Will Schneekloth/Getty Images)
LONG POND, PA - AUGUST 02:  Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, prepares to drive during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GoBowling.com 400 at Pocono Raceway on August 2, 2013 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.  (Photo by Will Schneekloth/Getty Images)
LONG POND, PA – AUGUST 02: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, prepares to drive during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GoBowling.com 400 at Pocono Raceway on August 2, 2013 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Will Schneekloth/Getty Images)

LONG POND, Pa.–With six races left before the Chase for the Sprint Cup field is set at Richmond, Martin Truex Jr. is one of the “bubble boys.”

Currently 11th in the standings and first among claimants to the two available wild card spots because of his road-course victory at Sonoma, Truex would like to put Pocono in his rear-view mirror after a respectable finish at the 2.5-mile track.

Truex and his Michael Waltrip Racing teammates, Clint Bowyer and Mark Martin, struggled at Pocono in June, but Truex is looking forward to the next five tracks with relish.

“This weekend is definitely important,” Truex told the NASCAR Wire Service after Friday’s practice. “I think if we can get through this race and stay kind of where we are–in touch with the top-10 and only a couple points out of that–I think we’ll be in good shape. We’ve got some great tracks coming up for us.

“Watkins Glen, obviously really looking forward to that after what we did at Sonoma. Atlanta is coming up. It’s one of my favorites. We’ve definitely got some places where we could run well–Bristol has been good for us–so I think we just need to get through this one. I feel like we can get another win before the Chase starts, and we’re going to work hard to try to make that happen.”

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.