Martin Truex Jr. is happy to come to his home track, but he also understands its pivotal role in his plan to move through the Round of 12 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Truex got the first of his 19 career victories in 2007 at Dover International Speedway, the closest track to his Mayetta, New Jersey, hometown. He won again at the Monster Mile in the fall race of 2016, and his average finish in 25 starts at the concrete track is 12.0.
In the last nine races at Dover, Truex has finished outside the top 10 only once, and that was an 11th-place run in 2015.
Truex is also strong at Kansas Speedway, site of the Oct. 21 elimination race in the Round of 12. He won both races at the 1.5-mile track during his 2017 championship season. All told, Truex has led 726 laps at the Kansas City facility.
What worries Truex is the race that falls between Dover and Kansas—the free-for-all at Talladega Superspeedway. The driver of the No. 78 Furniture has failed to finish the last four events at the 2.66-mile track, thanks to an engine failure and three crashes.
In 27 starts at ‘Dega, Truex has posted two top fives and has led a mere 52 laps. No wonder he feels he needs to establish a safety net at Dover and Kansas.
“Talladega is a wild card, and we haven’t had much luck there, so we need to make sure we shine at Dover and Kansas to make the next round on our own and not worry about what other drivers are doing,” said Truex, who starts the Round of 12 in third place, with a cushion of 38 Playoff points.
Truex was leading last Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course when contact from Jimmie Johnson’s Chevrolet sent him spinning into the outside wall at the exit from the final chicane. Truex finished 14th.
“We had the performance to win all three of the races in the first round,” said Truex, who ran third at both Las Vegas and Richmond in the first two races of the Round of 16.
“Came so close at Charlotte but got spun out just before the finish line. Hopefully, we’ll get that win when we really need it.”
Sunday’s Gander Outdoors 400 (2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) would be good for starters.
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.
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