DENVER (July 22, 2014) – While Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of NASCAR’s Brickyard 400 this weekend, Furniture Row Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. will be celebrating his 10th start at the hallowed track that has been located in Speedway, Ind. on the famed corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road for more than 100 years.
The 10 years prior to his first Sprint Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Truex followed the midsummer classic and dreamed about competing at one of the world’s most famous racetracks.
“No doubt, Indianapolis Motor Speedway will also be a special venue and it’s a place where every driver and crewmember wants to kiss those bricks following a victory,” said the 34-year-old Truex. “Stock car drivers and stock car fans were thrilled when the track, known for open-wheel racing and the Indy 500, worked with NASCAR to create the Brickyard 400 twenty years ago. It has given our sport a midseason race that carries plenty of intrigue and excitement.”
With the Sprint Cup schedule running out of races before the Chase playoffs begin in mid September, Truex and the Denver, Colorado-based, single car team know that it will take a victory to have a shot in competing for the season championship.
“A victory at Indianapolis would be the ultimate double,” noted Truex, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet. “A win would most likely secure us a spot in the Chase and winning at Indianapolis will go a long way in history of capturing one of NASCAR’s crown jewels.”
Though the anticipation of competing at Indy crescendos up until race day on Sunday, Truex is well aware of the difficulties at the 2.5-mile oval.
“Indy is not an easy place to drive,” said Truex. “The biggest reason is that the speeds are so high and there’s not a lot of banking. There are other things such as a temperature-sensitive racetrack with all four corners being different. You really got to get your car figured out for all four corners, which is a huge challenge, especially when the sun and shade move around. Aero also comes into play with the high speeds. It’s just a very difficult place to race.”
Truex’s best results in the Brickyard 400 were the past two years when he finished eighth in 2012 and 11th in 2013.
“The positive news for our Furniture Row Racing team for Indy is that we’re coming off a pretty good weekend in New Hampshire,” said Truex. “We weren’t where we need to be, but we sure did make improvements. That was a major step in the right direction and if we can continue our forward progress there is no telling what we can do in our No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet.”
Truex started ninth and finished 12th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.
The Crown Royal Presents the John Wayne Walding 400 at the Brickyard Powered by BigMachineRecords.com will be a 160-lap race and it will be televised on ESPN.
