Toyota Racing – Martin Truex Jr.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Dover International Speedway – May 3, 2019
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to the media in Dover:
MARTIN TRUEX JR, No. 19 SiriusXM Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
What are your thoughts on single car qualifying?
“It’s definitely a change of mindset. It’s kind of going back, I feel like quite a while now since we’ve done this and it’s just a dramatic change in just the way you approach it mentally. You get one shot at it now. You work through practice and you do everything you can to make one fast lap – you only need one fast lap, not three like we used to with three rounds. It’s definitely a lot different and I think the pressure is higher. It’s easier to screw up. You only get one crack at it. Just trying to think back to years ago how we used to do it and try to pull from that.”
How much less off-throttle time is there here at Dover this weekend compared to last year?
“Considerable amount – more throttle today than we’ve had here ever. A bunch of cars beat the track record today by a considerable amount. I can’t explain to you how fast it feels, it’s pretty hairy out there. Pretty wild ride, a lot of fun, but you really have to attack and we went faster every time we hit the race track without really doing a whole lot to our car. Just trying to figure out where the limit is because it’s something we just haven’t done here before like this. Typically, I’m at my best when the track slows down and gets rubbered in so this is pretty extreme situation of a day for me trying to get ready to qualify.”
Do you feel the speeds are dangerous and do you expect the racing to be impacted?
“There’s no question it’s going to be harder to get close to someone as fast as we’re going. There’s no way around that, that’s simple science. I don’t know, we’ll have to wait and see. It’s really fast and obviously you don’t want to hit anything. It’s a race car so there’s always danger involved I guess.”
How special is this race track to you?
“It’s a great place and such a unique race track. One of my favorites to come to for sure. It’s called the Monster for a reason, it’s mean and it’s fast and it’s big. It’s kind of crazy. I really enjoy it and I’ve been coming here a long time. Ran the Busch North car here back in the day and things like that. My family owned a car here in the Busch Series so definitely a special place for me, not far from where I grew up and always look forward to coming back here and being on the East Coast.”
How much do you keep up with the local sports teams in Philadelphia other than the Eagles?
“I know they’re doing well, I don’t watch a whole lot of basketball to be honest with you. I like baseball a lot, but I don’t get to watch that much either. Stay pretty focused on racing this time of year.”
