Toyota Racing – Martin Truex Jr.
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
LONG POND, Pa. (July 13, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to the media on Saturday prior to this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway.
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Is Pocono a track you’d like to see get a second date?
“Yeah, it’s kind of crazy how much things have changed over the years with the schedule, especially and all of the new tracks we’ve gone to in the past few years. Yeah, this place has been a staple for a long time, I enjoy coming here and been coming up this way for a long time. I don’t know, I feel like the future is one race everywhere and not two anymore. Yeah, it’s great that we still come here. It’s unique track and a lot of fun.”
How much energy does a track like this take out of you?
“I would say this probably one of the easier ones from a standpoint of wear and tear on a driver with the long straightaways, you can kind of relax. It’s kind of laid-back racing, besides on the restarts. They’re more mentally challenging than anything. But the physicality of this place is on the lower side compared to the other tracks we go to.”
What are the emotions coming here potentially for the last time and your thoughts on that first win here?
“Yeah, for sure, all the wins over the years are great wins. That one was definitely big one for our team. That really jumpstarted a good couple of years together. Really good memories of that one and I think in 2018 as well with that same group. Got a lot of great memories here, have a lot of heartbreakers as well, a few that go away over the years. But last year, we were very strong and looking forward to hopefully getting a checkered flag tomorrow. That’s what we’re here for and I feel very good about it. Feel great about our team and what we’ve been doing lately. We’ve had a lot of speed, just got to capitalize on it and hope we can do that tomorrow.”
Did you see your name is printed on the start/finish line?
“Yeah, I saw watching the Trucks race yesterday. It was very cool.”
Have you embraced tributes like these?
“I’d say I’m ready to embrace it. I think I was actually pretty surprised seeing that two days ago. You know, as a driver, you don’t ever feel like you’re really deserving of things like that. For Pocono to do that, it’s really special for me, my family. Definitely cool to see and hope we’re the first to cross it (start/finish line) tomorrow.”
How much confidence do you have coming into the weekend?
“For sure, it’s been a tough month-and-a-half, finish-wise. Speed-wise, aside from maybe last week and Iowa, we’ve been solid. Just need to capitalize on that and execute. It takes a lot of things to win races, lead laps, stay upfront and have fast cars, so hope we can put it all together this weekend. But I feel good about it. Yeah, just kind of been in a slump for a little while now.”
Anything to pinpoint for the slump?
“It’s been multiple things, frustrating for sure. You name it across the board, it’s happened. The last three races, we’ve been crashed at the end by someone, and that’s frustrating. Dealt with a lot of things like rain and crazy things like that. Yeah, hopefully this is a normal, strai ghtforward weekend. Hoping for a good day today and execute tomorrow, be upfront tomorrow and be in good shape.”
How do you view Richmond and your success there?
“Well the wins stick out as usual. Everywhere, the wins are huge. But yeah, that place has been really, really good for us. And also very frustrating with the amount of times when we’ve dominated and came up short, including this season. Yeah, just always look forward to going there. It’s a very unique track, very old school track. Tire wear, you have to manage your stuff and that really plays into my strengths. It’s going to be different this time around. They’re changing the tire combination from what we had in the spring. Going to have to figure out how to recapture it and hopefully come up with something that worked like it has in the past.”
What will the Olympic break be like?
“Yeah, it’s going to be interesting. Not very often, we get two weeks off. It’s definitely great for the crew guys. They work so hard, so many hours, they just don’t stop. So it’s a grind and it’ll be good for them to spend a little time with their families. As a team, you kind of regroup, recharge with the Playoffs coming up, the end of the season and all that goes into that with the pressure. It’ll be nice break for everyone. I’d say I get more of a break than those guys, so it’s nice to see they get it as well. It should be fun.”
What race in your career stands out the most to you?
“That’s a tough question. Probably the Coke 600 when we lead pretty much the whole thing, besides the green flag pit stop laps. That’s something that probably won’t happen again and it’s cool to be on the sheets for something no one else has done.”
Are you able to relax down the long straightaways here at Pocono?
“Yeah, there’s a lot to think about. What you’re doing next week, where you’ll be fishing (laughs). No, honestly, just it gives you time to think about your car, what’s going on in the race. A lot of times, you’re just in such traffic. Concentration, really focused on what you’re doing and a place like this, you have some time to think about things, so it makes it a little easier from a mental standpoint to kind of understand of how things are going on around you, how your car is doing, what you need. Time to talk to your crew. At Bristol, you can barely hear what they’re even saying, barely have time to even hit the button. So, definitely different there.”
What conversations have you had with Ryan before his race today?
“Not a lot, really. He does a lot of stuff with sim work and working with his team. Last time he raced here, I think it was in Trucks and he ran second, so he has some confidence this week on the simulator. Hopefully he has a good day. He’s had a decent year, obviously that win at Dover was huge again for him. So hopefully, we’re trying to put together more races for him next year. He’s done a great job jumping around a few teams at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) and preforming well.”
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