MARTIN TRUEX JR.
No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota
Sprint Cup Series Preview – Phoenix
CORNELIUS, N.C. — Martin Truex Jr. and the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS team have earned top-10 finishes in the last three races – only Tony Stewart can boast of similar success. Truex expects to continue the trend this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway and the season’s final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver had a strong test at the newly-reconfigured Phoenix track. For the second consecutive week, Scott Miller, MWR’s executive vice president of competition, will call the shots atop the No. 56 pit box. The NASCAR veteran joined MWR last week.
QUOTES
Martin Truex Jr. on Strong Performances: “We’re on a good roll right now. We’ve had strong cars pretty much all season. We’ve just had things go wrong and we’ve beaten ourselves. I feel like I have the team that is capable of running up front each weekend. It’s just a matter of putting it all together. We’ve got two great tracks coming up for us in Phoenix and Homestead. They are two of my favorite tracks. I feel like both of those places we can go and run up front as well as challenge for wins. I think we can get our NAPA Toyota in victory lane before the year is out.”
On Phoenix: “I think the track is really going to be good. When we tested there at the end of the session, the track was amazing. It had lots of grip. I know they continue to do work on it and if they’ve widened the groove, it’s going to be an awesome race. The track is really cool and I like the wider exit in Turn 2. I think we’re going to see one of the best races ever at Phoenix if we can get the track’s second and third grooves rubbered in. We had a great test and our car was really fast, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Scott Miller on Working with NAPA Team: “Martin and I hit it off and communicated well at Texas. It also helps when you have a fast car and we did last weekend. It was nice to join MWR and put a nice race together for the NAPA team. A top-10 is not easy to get these days and obviously, I am looking for more. We’ve got two more to go so I look forward to more strong performances to carry into the off season and prepare for 2012.”
ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST
· Martin Truex Jr. will be competing in his 224th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday.
· At Phoenix, Truex ranks 13th among drivers in performance over the last 10 races. His average Cup start is 12th and his average finish is 15th. Truex’s PIR stat book includes one pole, one top-five, four top-10 and nine top-20 finishes. Also, he has led 72 laps in competition.
· On Thursday, Michael Waltrip will participate in a question and answer session during the Phoenix Sports Commission Luncheon. He’ll discuss his career, the business of NASCAR and state of Michael Waltrip Racing.
· Check out NAPA Reserve Online. Visit napaonline.com to make shopping for an auto part easier. Order online and pick up at your favorite NAPA AUTO PARTS store.
