[media-credit name=”charlottemotorspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”199″]
[/media-credit]MARTIN TRUEX JR.
No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota
Charlotte Motor Speedway—Sprint All-Star Challenge
CORNELIUS, N.C. – No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. looks to repeat his 2010 Sprint Showdown victory and earn a transfer spot into Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star Challenge at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The non-points event — worth a cool $1 million — culminates a week of festivities including Truex’s sold-out Catwalk for a Cause fundraiser on Wednesday in Mooresville, N.C., and the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge in uptown Charlotte featuring the NAPA KNOW HOW pit crew on Thursday.
For Truex, the real task at hand will be using all of the on-track time to prepare for next weekend’s grueling Coca-Cola 600 — NASCAR’s longest Sprint Cup race of the season.
TRUEX ON NAPA TEAM: “We had another shot at winning a race. Darlington was like Kansas. Once we got in the lead, we checked out. It’s kind of nice to be one of those teams that gets frustrated with top-five finishes. It is so competitive out there and when you have a car that is capable of winning, you have to take advantage of it when you get the opportunity.
“Obviously, what is nice about this weekend’s Sprint Showdown is it gives us track time to see where we stand for the bigger picture — the Coca-Cola 600. If we can duplicate our 2010 efforts, I think we can not only win the Sprint Showdown, but we can also close the deal and take home all the cash in the Sprint All-Star race. My crew chief Chad Johnston believes we have a race package capable of turning in our strongest performance at Charlotte Motor Speedway. I can’t wait to get out on the track. Right now this team is having a lot of fun and I love driving this NAPA Toyota.”
TRUEX ON NAPA KNOW HOW PIT CREW: “My NAPA KNOW HOW pit crew has been phenomenal this year. They have been very fast, but most importantly, they’ve been consistent. They haven’t made mistakes and beat themselves. That’s been something that we’ve really had on our side this year. Anytime I come in green flag or yellow flag conditions, I can count on those guys to maybe not beat a few cars out, but at least hold our own and make no mistakes. That’s the most important thing. The Pit Crew Challenge is quite different than what they do week in and week out as far as how they do that stop to go fast. I will be there supporting them 100 percent and my girlfriend Sherry will be steering our car. Hopefully they will have fun — that’s the main thing.”
ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST
· MEDIA: Truex will be available Friday at 1:45 p.m. in the media center.
· STOP. GO. SAVE: Fans can receive up to a $50 Visa rebate card by mail with a qualifying brake parts purchase at participating NAPA AUTO PARTS stores and AutoCare centers when they upgrade to a premium or better during May.
· VOTE FOR CINDY! NAPA Racing’s Cindy Lewis needs help in getting voted back in for the third round event in Charlotte. The Facebook link for voting is http://on.fb.me/haulerdriver.
· MWR FAN FEST: Michael Waltrip Racing will hold its sixth annual Fan Fest at its race shop in Cornelius, N.C. on Wednesday, May 23. MWR NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers Martin Truex Jr., Mark Martin and Clint Bowyer will sign autographs from 1-3 p.m. For details visit: michaelwaltripracing.com and follow all the action via Twitter utilizing #mwrfanfest.
