MARTIN TRUEX JR.
No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota
Kansas Speedway
CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Martin Truex Jr. credits the entire Michael Waltrip Racing organization for his impressive start to the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. He’s especially appreciative of the chance to work with teammate Mark Martin again. The veteran driver’s feedback may be an asset to Truex this weekend as he tackles one of his toughest tracks, the Kansas Speedway.
Coming off of a pole and his fourth consecutive top-10 finish at Texas, the two-time Nationwide Series champion is a serious contender for a Chase berth this year. In seven races, Truex ranks fourth in the standings. Since MWR completed its major overhaul 10 races ago, only one driver has outperformed Truex — the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart.
Points in Last 10 Races
1. Tony Stewart 372
2. Martin Truex 355
3. Greg Biffle 354
4. Matt Kenseth 347
5. Carl Edwards 345
MARTIN TRUEX JR. ON KANSAS: “Kansas is a tough track for me to get a hold of. It will be another good place to really gauge the strength of our team. The key to Kansas is finding the right balance especially over the tar strips. There’s about five of them and when the sun is out, the strips make it extremely slick out there. It’s one of the toughest tracks for me so it will be nice to work with Mark (Martin) and Clint (Bowyer) as they’ve had strong runs at Kansas and their input will be a big help.”
TRUEX ON MWR TEAMWORK: “It’s been a pleasure once again to work with Mark Martin. He commands so much respect, gives it in return and has been a real asset to this organization. It’s been fun working with Clint and Brian (Vickers) as well. I feel like the biggest thing that we have going for us is the way our teams are all on the same page, the way our crew chiefs work together, the way all our engineers have really grown together in the company the last few years. Everyone is really on the same page and it’s easy for us to interact in our team meetings and talk about the race cars and what we like, what we don’t like, what we’re looking for. When we all run good, it seems like we’re all around each other. If we’re all off a little bit, we seem like we’re around each other then. I feel like we’re feeding off each other and hopefully we’ll continue to push each other to that next level.”
MARK MARTIN ON TRUEX: “Martin Truex Jr. has been phenomenal, phenomenal. The teamwork I’m feeling right now at MWR is second to none where I’ve ever been at. Martin Truex, Jr., is really, really engaged and he’s working hard to help the whole program. We’re racing three cars to put two in the Chase for sure and win races and try to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Hendrick (Motorsports) and Roush (Fenway Racing) and those guys. That’s a tall order for right now. I’m very proud of the results we’re getting. It’s coming from a lot of good attitudes and hard-working people.”
ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST
· MEDIA: Truex will be available to media on Friday at 2:50 p.m. in the media center.
· TV: Truex will appear on NASCAR RaceDay. It airs Sunday on SPEED at 10:30 a.m. ET.
· RON CAPPS RETURNS FAVOR: On Sunday, Truex attend the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C. He served as NAPA Funny Car driver Ron Capps’ Honorary Pit Crew Member. Capps was Truex’s HPCM last month at Auto Club Speedway. Watch Truex’s experience: CLICK HERE.
· CHECK THIS OUT: Visit NAPA Reserve Online at napaonline.com to make shopping for an auto part easier. Order online and pick up at your favorite NAPA AUTO PARTS store.
