Toyota Racing – Martin Truex Jr.
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
SPARTA, Ky. (July 12, 2020) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. was made available to media via videoconference in advance of the race at Kentucky Speedway:
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Auto Owners Insurance Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Are you excited to head to Bristol for the All-Star race this week?
“It should be exciting. Doing it a little different. Bristol is obviously a great short track and always exciting racing there. I think it’s the perfect spot to have the All-Star race. Hopefully, it will put on a big show.”
What will be your challenge in today’s race starting from the back and have you looked at where the traction compound is located?
“Haven’t looked yet. It’s definitely not optimal. It’s going to be a challenge. This is a track that’s difficult to pass on. We’ve seen throughout the weekend that the PJ1 is definitely the preferred groove and really not much been happening on the bottom lane. I don’t know, our cars are a little different than everybody else that’s been here this weekend. Hopefully, the groove will widen out some. It’s going to be hot this afternoon so maybe that will help a bit. It’s going to be a challenge and we’ll just do the best we can with it.”
Have you used the ‘choose rule’ in other series you’ve competed in prior to NASCAR and do you have an idea of how many rows it would take to move to the other groove?
“I’ve never done it before. Honestly, I’ve been racing NASCAR long enough that short tracks weren’t even doing this back then. It’s been a while for sure. I think it will just depend on the race track and we’ll see how it plays out. Bristol is definitely a place where you can make either lane work depending on how your car is working and things like that. I think it will be pretty straightforward at Bristol. I don’t really see guys giving up rows, but definitely there’s some options there and maybe it will give you a chance to take some chances somewhere.”
How will the championship be viewed for the 2020 season?
“I think no matter what, to win a championship at this level, no matter what the circumstances, is a big deal. It would be huge for any team. It’s really hard to say it will be much different. Obviously, the challenges this year have been unique and from that standpoint, maybe there would be some extra special feelings from the crew or just the amount of work they’ve had to put in or the challenges they’ve faced.”
You just turned 40. Were you dreading that number or sad to say goodbye to your 30s?
“It really didn’t bother me much. I’m glad to be 40, I’m glad to make it another year. Not feeling 40. It’s funny, when I got reminded that it was coming up, I remembered back to when my Dad turned 40 and me thinking how old he was. Getting up there for sure, but I don’t feel 40 so I guess that’s a good thing.”
Do you feel you have a lot of years left in your career?
“You know, I really hadn’t thought much about it to be honest with you. I think I just kind of take it as the contracts come along and think about where I’m at, how things are going. Right now, I’m loving what I’m doing, I love my team and I’ve got a lot of great partners that have made it all possible. I think as long as we keep having success, we’ll just keep rolling.”
Where do you think you and your team have improved from last year to this year?
“That’s a tough question. I don’t know we’re where we want to be right now. I think last year, one of the things we struggled with was unloading off the trailer and being where we wanted to be. I felt like we always had to make a lot of gains throughout the weekends. This year, since coming back without having practice, I feel like it’s hurt us a lot. We’ve had some inconsistencies here and there and we’ve just had some bad races. It’s really not typical for us. I definitely would say we’re not where we want to be from that standpoint. We’ve had more than our share of tough luck this year as well. I don’t know, it’s been just so different. It’s really hard to compare. New crew chief this year so that’s been different as well. We really just have been missing practice a bit there. Our strength always as a team was figuring out how to get the car better between practice and the race. That was really something we really excelled at and we’ve missed out on that I feel like. Overall, I feel like we’ve been performing well. Just we’ve had a couple hiccups along the way. Last week was definitely a tough deal with the engine issue on the first lap and then getting wrecked. We didn’t even get a chance to race and it’s kind of been little things like that popping up here and there that have bit us this year.”
How do you feel about the glow lights for the All-Star race?
“I’m not a huge fan of it. I don’t know, I think it’s kind of ridiculous looking. It’s really up to what everybody wants and what the fans like. It’s not like we get to vote on it or anything. I found out just a few days ago. We’ll see how it all plays out.”
Has the importance of following the COVID protocols been discussed with the drivers from NASCAR or Joe Gibbs Racing?
“Yeah, I think everybody has talked about it. That’s part of what we’re doing here is trying to continue racing and finish out this season. It’s definitely been passed along to everybody and I think everybody is taking it seriously.”
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