Today is Veterans Day, and at Furniture Row Racing we are proud of our team members who have served in the United States military – Barry Huston (Navy), Charlie Krauch (Army, Vietnam), Chuck Lemay (Navy), John Parks (Marines), Craig Phillips (Air Force, Vietnam) and Barney Visser (Army, Vietnam)
Truex Jr.’s consistency, grit paying off in Chase
DENVER, Colo. (Nov. 11, 2015) — Martin Truex Jr. continues to be a force in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship with eight of 10 playoff races completed.
The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet is fourth in Chase points entering Sunday’s final race of the eliminator round of eight drivers at Phoenix International Raceway. Truex is four points out of second, three from third and has a seven-point margin over fifth.
The top-four drivers from the eliminator round will advance to a Game 7-type championship round at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 22. The highest finishing driver among the four finalists at the season finale in Homestead will be crowned the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion.
Consistency has been a Truex trademark in the eight Chase races with an average finish of 8.9. He has also scored top 10s in each of the last three races.
“We might be considered as the underdog team, but for us, we know we have what it takes to go all the way,” said Truex about his single car Furniture Row Racing team that is based out of Denver, Colo. “At the beginning of the year your goal is to get to Homestead as one of the four drivers battling for the championship. We have put ourselves in a position of having the opportunity to accomplish that goal. But to get to Homestead, we first have to get through Phoenix, which is no easy task.”
For the record, the last driver from a single-car team to capture the NASCAR Sprint Cup title was the late Alan Kulwicki in 1992.
“The points battle is tight right now and there are so many scenarios that can still play out this weekend,” noted Truex. “I guess it’s going to be another week of being nervous. That’s ok with me, you’re just happy to be in a situation to put it all on the line. Those are things that heroes are made of — when it’s all on the line and you can go out there and perform to the highest of your ability against the best in the world.”
Though the grind of the Chase has been nothing short of a weekly nerve-racking experience, Truex said he wouldn’t trade places with anyone. He is enjoying his third Chase appearance and feels upbeat about Sunday’s Quicken Loans Race For Heroes 500 at the one-mile flat track.
“We tested in Phoenix a month or so ago, and we were really fast,” explained Truex. “So, we’re looking forward with confidence to the Phoenix race. However, we’ll definitely have to step it up and it’s just a matter of really not making mistakes and getting everything we can get out of the day. I have all the confidence in our team and our (rookie) crew chief Cole Pearn. They keep on giving me fast race cars and it’s been a blast.”
Truex has garnered one top five and seven top 10s in 19 career starts at Phoenix. In this year’s spring race at Phoenix he qualified 15th and finished seventh.
