Martin Truex Jr.
Nashville Advance
No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing
Event Overview
● Event: Ally 400 (Round 19 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 30
● Location: Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway
● Layout: 1.333-mile, concrete oval
● Laps/Miles: 300 laps/399 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 90 laps / Stage 2: 95 laps / Final Stage: 115 laps
● TV/Radio: NBC / PRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Notes of Interest
● Where We Stand: The New Jersey native sits fourth in the driver standings with 572 points, 48 behind leader Kyle Larson. All four Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) entries are currently inside the top-11 in the standings, with Denny Hamlin third, Christopher Bell sixth and Ty Gibbs 11th as the series heads to the outskirts of Music City this weekend.
● The Cup Series returns to Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway for the fourth Cup Series race on the concrete oval. While Truex had not fared well in his first two Cup Series starts there, he turned it around in 2023 as he had a shot at the win before eventually bringing home a solid runner-up finish.
● Truex first competed at Nashville all the way back in 2003 in what is now called the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In five Xfinity Series starts there from 2003 to 2005, Truex claimed two poles and two top-five finishes.
● Looking for 35: Truex’s win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon last July was his most recent Cup Series win, the 34th of his career, tying him with 2004 champion Kurt Busch for 25th on the all-time Cup Series win list.
● Ahead at this Stage: Truex has accumulated 63 stage wins since the beginning of the stage era in 2017. He is the only driver with 10 or more stage sweeps, with his latest sweep coming at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn last August. Truex scored his second stage win of the season at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway in April, leading the field across the line at the end of Stage 1.
Martin Truex Jr., Driver of the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE
When you look back at Nashville last year, what do you remember?
“It was a good race. We had a really strong car at times, and at times I just remember being really free and losing the lead and getting the car better at the end and tracking down Ross (Chastain), and I just couldn’t find a way around him. So that was a little bit of a frustrating race because I felt like we had the car to beat – we just didn’t put it all together at the right time. I’m looking forward to going back. It is a fun track. It has been really good the last few years and hoping we can make it even better and get our Bass Pro Shops Camry to victory lane there.”
You had a strong race there in 2022, as well, but didn’t get the finish you deserved. What do you remember about that day?
“Nashville is really interesting. We had a really strong car that year. Led a bunch and won both Stage 1 and Stage 2 and was in really good shape. The rain delay came, the track cooled off and changed a lot and we went from us and the 11 (Denny Hamlin) as the two cars to beat to all of a sudden five or more guys right there with us. I don’t remember exactly how we got shuffled out of the lead but I know it had something to do with the pit cycle and pit stops. Once you lose the lead, you lose the advantage, and some other guys got faster as it cooled off when it was so much later at night and we just couldn’t get back to the front. I feel like we’ve been bringing some really good cars to the track and would expect us to be strong at Nashville this weekend. Looking forward to getting back there with our Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE and hope to be able to get one more spot than we did last year.”
Have you heard from anyone this week that was really special to you since you announced you will be retiring at the end of the year?
“I’ve heard from a lot of people. This week was really kind of humbling to see the comments and it means so much to me just to hear what people think. A lot of people that I really respect and look up to have sent messages or said something in interviews, just whatever. It is really special to know that you’ve represented yourself well, your family well, your teams – all of the people I’ve worked with over the years. Really, really humbling to see that. I’m sure there will be more down the line, but it means a lot. It’s really special. It reminds you of how lucky we are to be able to do this.”
Do you anticipate feeling any different the second half of the season in your final year?
“I’m not going to approach it any differently. I don’t expect my team to, either. I don’t think they will. I think it’s business as usual as far as when we’re at the track. But, I don’t know. I guess it will feel different knowing that I’ll be going to tracks for the last time or whatever in a Cup car now. I’m not sure what it’s going to be like, but I’m going to try to enjoy it. We have our friends at Bass Pro Shops with us this weekend and would like to get them to victory lane during our last year. That will be the goal every week for us.”
No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Team Roster
Primary Team Members
Driver: Martin Truex Jr.
Hometown: Mayetta, New Jersey
Crew Chief: James Small
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
Car Chief: Chris Jones
Hometown: Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia
Race Engineer: Jaik Halpainy
Hometown: Blockville, New York
Engineer: Jeff Curtis
Hometown: Fairfax Station, Virginia
Spotter: Drew Herring
Hometown: Benson, North Carolina
Road Crew Members
Underneath Mechanic: Ryan Martin
Hometown: Mechanicsburg, Virgina
Mechanic: Todd Carmichael
Hometown: Redding, California
Interior/Tire Specialist: Tommy DiBlasi
Hometown: Annapolis, Maryland
Engine Tuner: Beau Morton
Hometown: Lake Havasu City, Arizona
Transporter Driver: Kyle Bazzell
Hometown: Fairbury, Illinois
Transporter Driver: Eddie DeGroot
Hometown: Baldwinsville, New York
Over-The-Wall Crew Members
Gas Man: Matt Tyrrell
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Jackman: Caleb Dirks
Hometown: Riverside, California
Tire Carrier: CJ Bailey
Hometown: Outer Banks, North Carolina
Front Tire Changer: Thomas Hatcher
Hometown: Middleburg, Florida
Rear Tire Changer: Lee Cunningham
Hometown: Leaf River, Illinois
