New Hampshire is Like Starting Over For Truex Jr., Furniture Row Racing

DENVER, Colo. (July 9, 2014) – After a first half of the season that included a number of wacky woes for Martin Truex Jr., the Furniture Row Racing driver feels the team has the capability to make a turnaround during the next 18 Sprint Cup Series races.

“We’ve struggled, been unlucky and have not run that well in the first 18 races,” said Truex. “But we’re not a 26th-place team either. We have strength – it’s a matter of avoiding fumbles and putting it all together. When we leave Homestead following the final race of the season (in November) I want us to say,  ‘after struggling the first half of the season, we came on strong in the second half.’ ”

The first race to kick off the second half of the 2014 season will be Sunday, the Camping World RV Sales 301 at the 1.058-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.

Truex had one of his better performances at the New England flat track last September when he led the second most laps (98 out of 300) and finished 10th. It was his sixth top-10 at the Magic Mile to go along with three top-fives.

“I am looking forward to New Hampshire,” stated Truex, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet. “I am optimistic about the New Hampshire track just because the way we ran in Richmond (top-10). It seems like our short track program is probably a little bit ahead of our mile-and-a-half stuff.”

Truex, who also finished sixth at the one-mile Dover track in early June, feels that it’s imperative to overcome the changing conditions at New Hampshire.

“New Hampshire is a funny place — you think it wouldn’t change in a year but every time you go there it’s a little bit different,” noted Truex. “It’s even different from the first to second race of the year as well. It’s hard to put your finger on what to do at New Hampshire. You just need to go there and practice and be open minded and work on the race car until you hit the right combination.”