Cool box for Truex gets hot

SONOMA, CA - JUNE 22: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, gets out of his car after spinning during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 22, 2013 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
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SONOMA, CA - JUNE 22:  Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, gets out of his car after spinning during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 22, 2013 in Sonoma, California.  (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
SONOMA, CA – JUNE 22: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, gets out of his car after spinning during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 22, 2013 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

SONOMA, Calif.— SONOMA, Calif.— Toward the end of his first qualifying lap on Saturday, Martin Truex Jr. was distracted by smoke within the cockpit of his No. 56 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota.

“Something burned up in the race car,” Truex said, after the car was pushed to the garage. “The last few turns of the lap, I definitely screwed up, because I had smoke flying, and it smelled really bad, and I was like, ‘Oh, no, what’s going on here?’

“So my concentration was kind of messed up. I think we’re going to be OK. It looks like it was just part of the wiring harness for the cool box (the air conditioning unit that cools the driver), which we didn’t even use (Saturday), but we’ll use it (Sunday). So hopefully it’s not a big deal.”

Despite the electrical fire, Truex completed a lap that was good enough to earn the 14th starting position for Sunday’s race.

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.