DENVER, Colo. (Sept. 20, 2017) – After automatically advancing to the Round of 12 as a result of winning the playoff opener at Chicagoland Speedway, Martin Truex Jr.’s mindset for Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway remains the same.
“Our approach doesn’t change from what it was in the regular season,” said Truex, who has a career high of five season wins. “We go into every single week to try and win both stages and then try to win the race. We want to get as many of those points as we can in case we have something happen like last year at Talladega (engine failure).”
New Hampshire’s ISM Connect 300 is the second of three races in the Round of 16. The final race of the first playoff round will be in Dover, Del. on Oct. 1.
From a personal standpoint New Hampshire is a race that Truex has been longing to win in the NASCAR Cup Series. Both he and his father – Martin Truex Sr. – have scored a win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the 1-mile track located in Loudon, and his younger brother Ryan has multiple New Hampshire wins in the K&N Pro Series East.
“New Hampshire carries a special significance for the Truex family and the one void is a Cup win and that’s what we’ll be shooting for on Sunday,” said Truex Jr., who has been the NASCAR Cup Series points leader for 10 consecutive weeks.
It’s not that Truex hasn’t been close to winning at the track known as the Magic Mile. He led the most laps in his last two appearances at New Hampshire – 137 in July (finished third) and 141 a year ago (finished seventh). And in the July 2016 race, a broken shifter doomed his chance of victory.
“We know our Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota Camry can run up front at New Hampshire, but we need to close the deal,” stated Truex. “It’s a tough track and the first thing you want is a good starting spot.”
Truex, who has a safety net of 58 playoff bonus points, is not looking beyond Sunday’s race.
“There are eight more playoff races before Homestead and plenty can happen between now and then,” explained Truex. “We don’t take anything for granted, we just need to be at the top of our game in every race. No different than the regular season.”
Looking at the statistics after the first 27 races, it’s safe to say that Truex and the Furniture Row Racing team have been consistently at the top of their game. Truex leads in race wins (5), stage wins (18), driver points (2102), playoff bonus points (58), stage points (359), top 10s (18), laps led (1723), miles led (2338), average start (6.8) and driver rating (115.8).
“I feel like right now we just have everything,” noted Truex. ‘We have the right people. We have the right support. We have the right guys behind us. We have the right information coming in. We really just have it all going on for us right now, and things are clicking.”
Truex’s New Hampshire career record includes 23 starts, four top fives, nine top 10s, one pole, 549 laps led, 11.7 starting average and a 13.3 finishing average.
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How the NASCAR Playoff Format Works
Sixteen drivers earn a berth in the first round of the playoffs. All point totals are reset to 2,000 plus earned playoff bonus points accumulated to date. After three playoff races in Round 1, four drivers will be eliminated, reducing the field to 12. After three playoff races in Round 2 another four drivers will be eliminated and same for Round 3. A victory automatically advances driver to the next round. The final four drivers will enter the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Championship 4 driver, who finishes best among the four finalists in the Homestead race, will be crowned the 2017 NASCAR champion.
No. 78 Over-the-Wall Crew, 2017
Front-tire changer
Chris Taylor, West Plains, Mo.
Front-tire carrier
Chris Hall, Springfield, Mo.
Rear-tire changer
Lee Cunningham, Lake River, IL
Rear-tire carrier
Adam Mosher, Fort Mill, S.C.
Jackman
Bailey Walker, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Gasman
Brian Dheel, Norton, Ohio
No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Road Crew, 2017
President
Joe Garone, Denver, Colo.
Crew Chief
Cole Pearn, London, Ontario, Canada
Car Chief
Blake Harris, Maypearl, Texas
Ass’t Car Chief
Greg Emmer, Allenton, Wis.
Race Engineers
Jeff Curtis, Fairfax Station, Va.
Pete Craik, Melbourne, Australia
Engine Tuner
Gregg Huls, Beatrice, Neb.
Engine Builder
Toyota Racing Development (TRD)
Spotter
Clayton Hughes, Thomasville, N.C.
Shock Specialist
Nick Kerlin, Old Fort, Ohio
Tire Specialist
Tommy DiBlasi, Annapolis, Md.
Front-End Mechanic
Nino Venezia, Philadelphia
Rear-End Mechanic
Rob Fairweather, Westbrookville, N.Y.
IT Support
Eric Cragun, Pleasant View, Utah
Pit Support
Ed Watkins, Richmond, Va.
Transportation
Chuck Lemay, DeKalb, IL, Barry Huston, Bloomingdale, Mich., Roy Miller, Elkridge, Md., Roger Pritchard, Hutchinson, Kan. Henry Benfield, Statesville, N.C.
