As a Furniture Row Racing driver Dover has been best-finishing track
DENVER, Colo. (Sept. 29 2015) – The next three Sprint Cup races – Dover, Charlotte and Kansas City — carry a positive statistic for Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet.
He led the most laps earlier in the year at each of those three venues – 131 at Dover, also 131 at Charlotte and 95 at Kansas City.
“We had great cars but let those races slip away – that’s the bad news,” said Truex, who finished sixth at Dover, fifth at Charlotte and ninth at Kansas City. “The good news is that we have a pretty good handle on each of those tracks. But right now, our only concern is Dover and making sure we advance into the next round of the Chase.”
Heading into Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover’s Monster Mile, Truex is positioned ninth in the 16-driver Chase point standings. Following Dover, four drivers will be eliminated and the remaining 12 will advance to the next round of three races with a clean slate of points.
“We’re still in it, but it’s tight and everyone is playing hardball, which is the way it should be in the Chase playoffs,” said Truex, who scored his first Sprint Cup victory at Dover on June 4, 2007. “We just need to duplicate what we did in New Hampshire, race smart, make no errors and avoid bad breaks.”
Though Dover has been the best-finishing track for Truex as a Furniture Row driver (6.33 average finish in three races – 6th, 7th, 6th), he is very well aware of the challenges that the all-concrete 1-mile oval presents.
“Dover’s a tough racetrack — high bank, high speed,” said the Mayetta, N.J. native, who calls Dover his home track. “The concrete surface there makes it a huge challenge. The key, as hard as it sounds, is to get the car somewhat comfortable. That place is so treacherous you have to really drive on the edge all day long.
“But Dover has been good for me during my career. It’s a place I have really enjoyed. My first time there was back in 2000 in the Busch North Series and I feel like I have a good understanding of the track. We had a great run there in June, led most of the first half of the race. We feel like we know a couple of things that we need to do a little bit better to try to finish the deal off. Right now it’s all about trying to beat the 48 at Dover (Jimmie Johnson). It’s a good place for us to close out the first round of the Chase.”
In 19 career Cup starts at Dover, Truex has one win, one top-five, nine top-10s and has led 358 laps. His average start is 13.6 and average finish is 15.3.
Furniture Row Racing Traveling Crew, 2015
No. 78 Over-the-Wall Crew
Front-tire changer
Josh Franko
Front-tire carrier
Craig Curione, Sanborn, N.Y.
Rear-tire changer
Adam Hartman
Rear-tire carrier
Adam Mosher, Fort Mill, S.C.
Jackman
Carey Wimbish, Granite Falls, N.C.
Gasman
Brian Dheel, Akron, Ohio
No. 78 Road Crew
General Manager
Joe Garone, Denver, Colo.
Crew Chief
Cole Pearn, London, Ontario, Canada
Car Chief
Blake Harris, Maypearl, Texas
Engineers
Jeff Curtis, Fairfax Station, Va.
Pete Craik, Melbourne, Australia
Spotter
Clayton Hughes, Thomasville, N.C.
Engine Specialist
Craig Griffitts, Thomasville, N.C.
Engine Builder
Earnhardt-Childress Racing
Shock Specialist
Nick Kerlin, Old Fort, Ohio
Tire Specialist
Tommy DiBlasi, Annapolis, Md.
Technical Support
Ryan Kelly, London, Ontario, Canada
Mechanic
Gary Frost, Romeo, Mich., Nino Venezia, Philadelphia
Technical Support
Ryan Kelly, London, Ontario
Transportation
Chuck Lemay, DeKalb, IL, Barry Huston, Bloomingdale, Mich., Roy Miller, Elkridge, Md., Henry Benfield, Statesville, N.C.
