Martin Truex Jr.
New Hampshire Advance
No. 19 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing
Event Overview
● Event: USA Today 301 (Round 18 of 36)
● Time/Date: 2:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 23
● Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon
● Layout: 1.058-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 301 laps / 318.46 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 70 laps / Stage 2: 115 laps / Final Stage: 116 laps
● TV/Radio: USA / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Notes of Interest
● Where We Stand: The New Jersey native sits fifth in the driver standings with 530 points, 61 behind new leader Chase Elliott. All four Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) entries are currently inside the top-11 in the standings with Denny Hamlin third, Christopher Bell eighth and Ty Gibbs 11th as the series heads to New England this weekend.
● Truex is the defending Cup Series winner at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, having scored his first win there in NASCAR’s top series a year ago in a dominating effort in which he led 254 of the 301 race laps. Additionally, Truex has nine top-five finishes and 15 top-10s and has led a total of 1,170 laps in 30 career Cup Series starts at New Hampshire. Truex’s average New Hampshire finish is 11.3.
● History at New Hampshire: Truex has some history at New Hampshire in the NASCAR K&N Series, having scored two of his five series victories at the mile oval.
● Family Ties: Not only has Martin Truex Jr. won at New Hampshire in both the East and Xfinity Series, his dad, Martin Truex Sr., won a East Series race at the track in 1994. Additionally, Martin’s brother Ryan won two East Series races at New Hampshire back in 2010.
● Reser’s returns to New Hampshire this weekend after being featured on Truex’s No. 19 Camry last weekend at Iowa Speedway in Newton. Family owned and operated, Reser’s has been a proud sponsor of good times at racetracks, picnics, and barbecues since 1950 with a family of brands that includes Reser’s American Classics, Main St. Bistro, and more. Reser’s operates 14 facilities in the U.S. and Canada and actively supports the communities it serves. Visit resers.com to learn more.
● Looking for 35: Truex’s win at New Hampshire last July was his most recent Cup Series win, the 34th of his career, tying him with 2004 champion Kurt Busch for 25th on the all-time Cup Series win list.
● Ahead at this Stage: Truex has accumulated 63 stage wins since the beginning of the stage era in 2017. He is the only driver with 10 or more stage sweeps, with his latest sweep coming at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn last August. Truex scored his second stage win of the season at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway in April, leading the field across the line at the end of Stage 1.
Martin Truex Jr., Driver of the No. 19 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry XSE
It was evident how much winning at New Hampshire last year meant to you. What makes New Hampshire so special for you and your family, and how special was it to get that first Cup win there?
“I spent a lot of my childhood up there and watching my dad race in the North Series up there at New Hampshire. Just spent a lot of time going up to Loudon every summer. And then racing and running well up there was a big part of the reason why I got hired and got to move to North Carolina to run in the Busch Series. It’s just been a special track for me, and to finally get that first Cup win there was huge. Hopefully we can go back-to-back this year and get our Reser’s Fine Foods Camry to victory lane there again.”
What do you think it will take to go back-to-back at New Hampshire?
“It’s a tough place and it’s not gotten any easier since then. The older it gets, the harder it gets. Last year, we saw the track be very different than it’s ever been before. You would always run that second lane and a little bit the third one and sometimes lane one, but at the end of the race last year we were running the fourth and fifth lanes. It was just crazy to see how that old asphalt in the corner came in during the race. It’s a very challenging and unique track, it’s got those seams in between each lane that can make your life miserable in the car if you hit those wrong. It’s crazy how it will change your car and mess up your lap. It’s a very technical track and it’s gotten bumpy over the years as well. It’s flat, has a fast entry and not a lot of grip. New Hampshire is a real challenge but it’s a lot of fun when you get it right. I know all our guys will be ready with our Reser’s Fine Foods Camry this weekend.”
You had so many close calls at New Hampshire prior to finally winning there last year. What was the feeling like to not only have a good race but to also be able to finish it off in victory lane?
“I feel like sometimes the ones you want to win the most are the hardest to get and Loudon was always one I really wanted. It felt great to go to victory lane there and remember what it was like just coming up in my career and going to that victory lane, and all the things that have happened in between kind of crossed my mind, and it was really a special day and moment.”
What does New Hampshire mean to you and your family, starting with your dad’s win there?
“New Hampshire is a big part of my career and our family’s racing history. When my dad got his win there, it was his first big win, and I was 12 when that happened. I grew up going up there for races and seeing the Busch cars and the Cup cars there for the first time ever. The only time I got close to those cars was up there, until I moved to North Carolina to race for a living. A lot of special memories there, and that place was a big reason I finally got the opportunity to move south.”
What are some memories of those times years ago going to New Hampshire as a family?
“The coolest part is that my dad, my brother and I have all won there in the North series. I’ve got a picture of myself, my mom, and my brother sitting in the stands when my dad was out there practicing one year, had to be 1994 or so. I was 14, my brother was probably 2. Just a lot of memories going there. That’s the first place I ever saw Cup cars in person. One of the coolest things I ever got to do was they used to have the combination race where the Busch North guys would get to race against the Busch Series guys who came up from down south. My dad’s car was parked nose-to-nose with Dale Earnhardt’s Busch car and I got to see him under the hood working on the car, and he was my favorite driver as a kid. Just a lot of good memories, that was the first big track I ever got to race on, just a lot of things that made New Hampshire special. I got my first Busch North win there and it kind of put me on the map and put me on the radar to get a job and drive for a living. It was a very important place for me coming up through the ranks.”
No. 19 Reser’s Fine Foods Team Roster
Primary Team Members
Driver: Martin Truex Jr.
Hometown: Mayetta, New Jersey
Crew Chief: James Small
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
Car Chief: Chris Jones
Hometown: Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia
Race Engineer: Jaik Halpainy
Hometown: Blockville, New York
Engineer: Jeff Curtis
Hometown: Fairfax Station, Virginia
Spotter: Drew Herring
Hometown: Benson, North Carolina
Road Crew Members
Underneath Mechanic: Ryan Martin
Hometown: Mechanicsburg, Virgina
Mechanic: Todd Carmichael
Hometown: Redding, California
Interior/Tire Specialist: Tommy DiBlasi
Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland
Engine Tuner: Beau Morton
Hometown: Lake Havasu City, Arizona
Transporter Driver: Kyle Bazzell
Hometown: Fairbury, Illinois
Transporter Driver: Eddie DeGroot
Hometown: Baldwinsville, New York
Over-The-Wall Crew Members
Gas Man: Matt Tyrrell
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Jackman: Caleb Dirks
Hometown: Riverside, California
Tire Carrier: CJ Bailey
Hometown: Outer Banks, North Carolina
Front Tire Changer: Lee Cunningham
Hometown: Leaf River, Illinois
Rear Tire Changer: Mike Louria
Hometown: Gibraltar, Michigan
