Driving for a Special Cause in a World Vision Paint Scheme
DENVER (Aug. 20, 2014) – The summer night race at Bristol Motor Speedway has both the drivers and fans feeling a little giddy about the world’s fastest half-mile oval.
Furniture Row Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. is no exception. The 34-year-old New Jersey native scored his first career NASCAR victory when he claimed the Bristol Nationwide Series win in August 2004.
Ever since that milestone victory, Truex has had a special fondness for the high-banked, all-concrete oval, which will play host to Saturday’s IRWIN Tools Night Race.
“Bristol is just a ton of fun,” said Truex. “I love racing there and have always enjoyed the place. I had a lot of good runs at Bristol and also a lot of bad runs, but either way it never changed my opinion of the track.”
Truex, whose No. 78 Chevrolet will be wrapped in World Vision colors promoting clean water donations for the African country of Zambia, knows what it takes to run up front in a Bristol Sprint Cup Series race.
He has had two top-three finishes at Bristol – a runner-up posting at the 2011 summer event and third place at the 2012 spring race.
“We go there now and run two and three wide, sometimes four wide,” noted Truex. “It can get wild and crazy but through it all it’s a cool place for an entertaining short track race.”
Truex and his Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet had a solid run going at Bristol back in March, but a mechanical issue late in the race forced him over the wall for repairs.
“Considering what happened to us at the last Bristol race and also last week in Michigan (collected in an early accident) it’s time for the luck factor to turn in our favor,” added Truex. “You never know what can happen at Bristol, and with three races remaining to get a victory and make the Chase it should turn out to be an exciting finish. I just hope we’re one of the teams in the mix.”
Truex said he is also looking forward to driving his car with the World Vision paint scheme.
“Our No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevy will be wrapped in the World Vision colors at Bristol and Atlanta,” stated Truex. “The car will promote a donation via a text for clean water that will go to a Zambian child. A $10 donation will provide clean water for one child for four years.”