Ryan Truex, No. 20 Martin Truex Jr. Foundation/Schick Xtreme3 Toyota Camry
Chicagoland Speedway Post-Race Report
Chicagoland Speedway
Dollar General 300
September 17, 2011
No. 20 Notes of Interest
-Ryan Truex’s 13th place finish at Chicago, combined with his 11th at Atlanta and 4th at Richmond, make three consecutive top-15 finishes for him in the Nationwide Series. Truex was the fastest car in the first Nationwide Series practice on Friday, and qualified 4th for Saturday’s race.
-This was Truex’s first race working with crew chief Jason Ratcliff. The two worked well together, which proved crucial as the No. 20 spun on Lap 7 after close racing with the No. 88 of Aric Almirola. He restarted 27th after the caution flag and patiently made his way back up into the top-20 by Lap 19.
-Truex was battling a loose race car which prevented him from passing on the bottom. After some solid adjustments in the pits, he was able to push the No. 20 Martin Truex Jr. Foundation/Schick Xtreme3 Toyota into the top-10 on Lap 58. He settled into 13th position during the mid-section of the race, and the lack of cautions prevented him from moving up through the field.
-Truex will be behind the wheel of the No. 20 next at Dover International Speedway on Oct. 1. Dover holds special meaning to the Truex family as it is close to their hometown of Mayetta, NJ and is the track at which Ryan clinched back-to-back K&N Pro Series East Championships in 2010. He is also scheduled to drive at Kansas and Phoenix later this year.
Ryan Truex on his Top-15 Finish
“We had a top-10 car. We just spun at the beginning there and had to make our way back up. It was the same [situation] as last week; at mile-and-a-half tracks it’s a lot harder to make spots up than on a short track. We just battled back and forth between tight and loose.”
Truex on the Early Spin
“I don’t know if the 88 [Aric Almirola] got loose under me or what. It felt like I got hit in the left rear, but I don’t know if he just got loose and took the air off my car.”
Truex on Driving for Joe Gibbs Racing
“Everything is working right. They have fast cars every weekend. I just need to not start off these races with such bad luck. Last week it was the ignition. This week we spun out. We should have finished at least top-10.”
Race Notes
– Brad Keselowski, won the Dollar General 300 by 8.568 seconds over Carl Edwards.
– JGR teammate, Brian Scott earned his first career pole and finished 3rd, his career best NNS finish.
Aric Almirola and Sam Hornish Jr. rounded out the top 5.
Time of race: 2:01:06
Cautions: 3 for 11 laps
Lead changes: 8
Attendance: 36,000
Race Results
1 Brad Keselowski
2 Carl Edwards
3 Brian Scott
4 Aric Almirola
5 Sam Hornish Jr.
6 Elliott Sadler
7 Jamie McMurray
8 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
9 Paul Menard
10 Reed Sorenson
11 Trevor Bayne
12 Jason Leffler
13 Ryan Truex
14 Justin Allgaier
15 Mike Bliss
16 Michael Annett
17 Kenny Wallace
18 Steve Wallace
19 Joey Logano
20 Mike Wallace
21 Jeremy Clements
22 Timmy Hill
23 Joey Gase
24 Kevin Conway
25 Eric McClure
26 David Stremme
27 Blake Koch
28 Morgan Shepherd
29 Robert Richardson Jr.
30 Scott Wimmer
31 Josh Wise
32 Derrike Cope
33 Kasey Kahne
34 Matt Carter
35 Mark Green
36 Scott Riggs
37 Carl Long
38 Johnny Chapman
39 Danny O’Quinn Jr.
40 Chase Miller
41 Dennis Setzer
42 J J Yeley
43 T J Bell
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