Martin Truex Jr.: Same Old Jersey Boy With Brand New Crew Chief
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[/media-credit]Prior to the race at Pocono, one of two tracks closest to his home state of New Jersey, Martin Truex, Jr. got the news that he would have a new crew chief, Chad Johnston, atop his pit box.
And even though this self-proclaimed Jersey boy is glad to be ‘home’, he is still a bit disconcerted from the news of the change.
“I mean it’s a tough deal,” Truex said. “It’s a tough situation to be involved in. This is obviously the first time I’ve ever been in this position where we’ve changed crew chiefs during the season.”
Truex seemed to feel most badly for his former crew chief Pat Tryson, who was relieved of that duty and will be reassigned within the Michael Waltrip Racing organization. Yet after 49 races together, while Truex feels a bit badly about how it all came down, he is still looking forward to working with Tryson in a different capacity.
“I feel bad for Pat (Tryson) obviously,” Truex said. “Hopefully we can keep Pat and hopefully he will stay around and help us make our race cars better because that’s the things he’s really good at.”
Truex, Jr. is looking forward to continuing to work with his new crew chief, a 31 year old engineer from Indiana. Truex’s new boss atop the pit box, Chad Johnston, grew up racing himself on the paved and dirt short tracks the heartland, driving open wheel midget cars.
“It’s not a big transition for the team though because Chad’s had a lot of responsibilities on the team up until now,” Truex said. “He was already in charge of the race car and the changes that went with it.”
“So far, things haven’t been a whole lot different,” Truex continued. “Most of the interaction about the race car has been between me and him for the past six months. So, that’s not a big transition.”
Because Johnston is so familiar with the team, the major new responsibilities include tech, taking charge of the team, and calling his first race, the 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono, atop the pit box.
“The biggest things different for him is going through tech and making sure everybody’s doing what they’re supposed to,” Truex said. “And of course his job on Sunday will be different with him calling the race.”
“Towards the end of last year when we gave Chad more of a responsibility as far as overseeing all of the set up on the car and the interaction on the race car going between me and him, we’d already seen big benefits from doing that,” Truex, Jr. said. “It’s not that Pat wasn’t getting it done but it was more that Chad was really stepping up and it was time to promote him.”
“He’s really doing a great job and all the things that we’ve given him to do, he’s really taken them on his shoulders and done a great job,” Truex continued. “He’s worked hard for this and he deserves it.”
Truex, Jr. is also hoping that the crew chief change will position him to somehow get back into Chase contention. He also definitely wants to return to his on-track performance of earlier in the season, especially on the bigger tracks.
“We’ve had a shot to win a few races and if we just could have closed the deal, we could be in the Chase,” Truex said. “The biggest thing that I’m worried about right now is that our performance hasn’t been as good as earlier in the year.”
“We were running really strong, leading laps and running up front for a while but the past month, it’s been kind of tough,” Truex continued. “It’s really just the bigger tracks.”
“Right now some of these races, we’re just going to have to get through and get the best we can until we get our cars better,” Truex said. “If we could go and win a couple races, we could make a deal out of it. So, that would be good.”
The new driver/crew chief combo will be first tested as they try to get back on track at the ‘Tricky Triangle’ this weekend. The challenges at Pocono Raceway will no doubt include managing the fuel, as well as the challenge of shifting for the first time in many years at the track.
“It’s quite a bit different,” Truex said. “We were doing a bit of shifting just to see what it would be like and it’s different.”
“I don’t know how much it will affect the fuel mileage and it usually comes down to a fuel mileage race,” Truex said. “I did shift the whole entire time in Happy Hour just to get a good read on it and see where we stand on it.”
As the Michael Waltrip team heads into the summer months, the Jersey driver also acknowledged that keeping cool, both in the car physically as well as emotionally, will become more and more important. And no doubt, Truex will lean on his young crew chief to assist in both regards.
“These cars are hot,” Truex said. “They put a lot of effort into keeping them as cool as possible but at the end of the day, it’s just hot.”
“You just have to be prepared for it,” Truex continued. “You just have to suck it up.”
“I started to train this year but I don’t think it’s all it’s cracked up to be, to be honest,” Truex said. “I think it’s a situation that when you do this, you get trained for it. It’s kind of like an experience thing.”
“You get used to the heat and you don’t worry about it anymore,” Truex continued. “I sometimes don’t know how we do it but we’re able to make it through.”
With a new face atop the pit box, Martin Truex, Jr. will be looking to his roots for some familiarity. His family is not able to be with him this weekend, however, his girlfriend and dog are keeping him company.
“Yes, I am a Jersey boy,” Truex said. “I haven’t lived there in a long time and I don’t get back there as much as I’d like to but yeah , I never forgot where I came from.”
“I still love it there,” Truex continued. “All my friends are there and my family still lives there.”
“It’s nice to get back there and I’d like to get back more often,” Truex said. “Someday I’ll be able to spend more time there.”
Pocono Raceway – Saturday update
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[/media-credit]Saturday at the Pocono Raceway we got off to a very wet start to the day as heavy storms pounded us early Saturday morning. Things cleared up long enough to get Coors Light qualifying completed for the Sprint Cup Series but a persistent fog plagued the ARCA series race and it was called shortly after the halfway mark due to the misty weather and the fact the spotters could not even see turn 1 from the tower!
Sprint Cup qualifying was somewhat surprising to me as Kurt Busch won the pole with Paul Menard rounding out the front row. Jeff Gordon will start third.
Busch, who wrecked his primary car during practice Friday said, “Quite a bit of emotions today, especially after having to burst out the backup car after yesterday’s mishap. To go out there today, if it was raining, we would be starting last. And now, luckily the weather held out and we’re on the pole. An amazing swing of events. An honest thank you to my guys, especially the ones back at the shop preparing the cars. To pull a backup out that’s a pole-winning car, that’s something you really wouldn’t hear about back in the day. It would be all-right, we’re going to have to struggle through the weekend; it’s not the best piece (car). It’s great that we have that quality control in our system.”
Busch also made comments about how the Penske organization has changed since his tirades in Richmond and other tracks over the radio. “We haven’t changed a lot of things since Richmond,” Busch said. “It’s just been some procedures, some processes and maybe just looking at the data a little bit differently. It’s great to come back out and be on the pole again.”
Carl Edwards, who was fastest in happy hour qualified sixth. He said, “It was an okay run but I was just telling Bob and the guys that that is the fastest our car has been through three and four. I knew we got through one and two really well. The timing was a little shaky and we got a little loose. All I could think was, ‘man, this is a screaming lap and don’t overdrive three.’ I drove in there a little bit soft and this thing stuck. It had so much grip and I knew right then that I gave something up. I tried to get into third gear and get on the gas as early as I could. That is a pole winning car right there. I just needed to drive a pole winning three and four. I am excited about the race. It is nice to be disappointed about a sixth place qualifying position. It should be a really good run for us.”
One driver who was real happy was one of my dark horse picks for the weekend Marcos Ambrose. The affable Australian said, ““That was huge pickup for us. You think that one lap won’t make or break your season but Pocono is really tough. We had a tough Kansas and a tough practice yesterday and our team just dug deep. The car was fantastic. I guessed the shift points correctly and here we are. I am really proud of my guys. I have to thank Stanley and DeWalt and everybody for believing in me. Richard Petty too. He is my boss and I have to make him happy.”
Mike Skinner had a vicious wreck off turn 1 in qualifying slamming into the second generation SAFER barrier wall. Skinner was OK after the wreck but the clean up some time and it looked like the weather could close in on qualifying session but instead it impacted the ARCA race.
Kurt Busch Snags 14th Career Pole at Pocono; Paul Menard Scores Second
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[/media-credit]After crashing his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge in practice and having to pull out a backup car, Kurt Busch was despondent, especially thinking that if qualifying was rained out, he would start the 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway dead last.
But the racing gods were with him, the weather held, and Busch snagged his 14th career pole, with a speed of 171.579 mph and a time of 52.454 seconds. This was Busch’s first pole in 21 races at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’
“There were quite a bit of different emotions out there today, especially after having to bust out the backup car from yesterday’s mishap,” Busch said. “If it were raining today, we’d be starting last.”
“Now luckily the weather held out and we’re on the pole,” Busch said. “It’s an amazing swing of events and an honest thank you to my guys. To pull the backup out as a pole winning car is really something you wouldn’t hear about back in the day.”
Busch’s pole also signified the third straight pole for Penkse Racing and his teammate Brad Keselowski was the winner of last weekend’s event at Kansas Speedway. Busch admitted in the media center after his pole run that Penske Racing has indeed turned a corner.
“We haven’t changed a lot of things since Richmond and it’s just been some procedures and processes and maybe looking at the data a bit differently,” Busch said. “It’s great to come back out and get on the pole again.”
Busch also referenced his superstition, feeling that he was stuck on the ‘unlucky 13’ pole.
“To be number 14 already, really feels good,” Busch said.
Busch’s crew chief, Steve Addington, echoed his driver’s feelings about the pole run.
“I want to thank everybody on this Shell/Pennzoil Dodge,” Addington said. “The work they did to get this car ready was awesome.”
“To lay down a lap like that is pretty impressive,” Addington continued. “And that guy that sits behind the steering wheel isn’t too damn bad either.”
Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet, scored the outside pole, with a speed of 171.422 mph and a time of 52.502 seconds. This was Menard’s fifth top-10 start of 2011 and his first such start in nine races at Pocono.
“We definitely thought it would rain out qualifying today,” Menard said. “So, we tried to post a good time early in practice and felt that would be our qualifying run.”
“We were hoping for rain, honestly,” Menard continued. “To qualify second and actually put a lap down was pretty cool. It was much more meaningful that way.”
Four-time champion Jeff Gordon posted his 22nd top-10 start at Pocono Raceway. He qualified third in his No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, with a speed of 171.350 mph and a time of 52.524 seconds.
“I’ll be honest, prior to that run, I was kind of hoping it was going to rain,” Gordon said with a laugh. “We made a couple of qualifying runs yesterday and we weren’t really thrilled with the pace.”
“The track was definitely a lot different as it was hot and slick,” Gordon continued. “We did our fastest laps in race trim and so we weren’t really sure what to expect today.”
“We looked at the lap times and seeing just how fast the track was today, it gets you anxious when you ran a 54.10 and guys were running in the 52s,” Gordon said. “It was interesting because right before I left the truck I told Alan (Gustafson), ‘It looks like half a second per corner’ and as a driver, a half a second a corner just isn’t fathomable.”
“As a driver, to go out there and do that and put up a good lap and be third, I’m thrilled,” Gordon said. “I’m very, very happy.”
Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota and past master of Pocono Raceway, qualified fourth with a speed of 171.174 mph and a time of 52.578 seconds.
Regan Smith, behind the wheel of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet, continued his hot qualifying hand and rounded out the top five, with a speed of 171.164 mph and a time of 52.581 seconds.
| Starting Lineup | |||||
| 5-Hour Energy 500, Pocono Raceway | |||||
| http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=14 | |||||
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Make | Speed | Time |
| 1 | 22 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | 171.579 | 52.454 |
| 2 | 27 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 171.422 | 52.502 |
| 3 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 171.35 | 52.524 |
| 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 171.174 | 52.578 |
| 5 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | 171.165 | 52.581 |
| 6 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 171.057 | 52.614 |
| 7 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | 170.836 | 52.682 |
| 8 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 170.532 | 52.776 |
| 9 | 0 | David Reutimann | Toyota | 170.348 | 52.833 |
| 10 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | 170.2 | 52.879 |
| 11 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | 170.177 | 52.886 |
| 12 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | 170.126 | 52.902 |
| 13 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 169.908 | 52.97 |
| 14 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 169.872 | 52.981 |
| 15 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 169.856 | 52.986 |
| 16 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | 169.702 | 53.034 |
| 17 | 4 | Kasey Kahne | Toyota | 169.671 | 53.044 |
| 18 | 47 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | 169.607 | 53.064 |
| 19 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | 169.52 | 53.091 |
| 20 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | 169.501 | 53.097 |
| 21 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | 169.447 | 53.114 |
| 22 | 46 | J.J. Yeley | Chevrolet | 169.444 | 53.115 |
| 23 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 169.441 | 53.116 |
| 24 | 71 | Andy Lally* | Ford | 169.37 | 53.138 |
| 25 | 51 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 169.307 | 53.158 |
| 26 | 38 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Ford | 169.278 | 53.167 |
| 27 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | 169.224 | 53.184 |
| 28 | 43 | A.J. Allmendinger | Ford | 169.176 | 53.199 |
| 29 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 169.17 | 53.201 |
| 30 | 34 | David Gilliland | Ford | 169.119 | 53.217 |
| 31 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 169.113 | 53.219 |
| 32 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 169.084 | 53.228 |
| 33 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | 168.932 | 53.276 |
| 34 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 168.89 | 53.289 |
| 35 | 13 | Casey Mears | Toyota | 168.666 | 53.36 |
| 36 | 66 | Michael McDowell | Toyota | 168.218 | 53.502 |
| 37 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 167.773 | 53.644 |
| 38 | 37 | Tony Raines | Ford | 167.395 | 53.765 |
| 39 | 181 | Scott Riggs | Chevrolet | 167.264 | 53.807 |
| 40 | 36 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet | 167.057 | 53.874 |
| 41 | 32 | Mike Bliss | Ford | 166.867 | 53.935 |
| 42 | 7 | Scott Wimmer+ | Dodge | 162.414 | 55.414 |
| 43 | 150 | T.J. Bell* | Toyota | 166.633 | 54.011 |
Brian Vickers Hopes Exhilaration of Daytona Skydive Carries Over to Pocono Win
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[/media-credit]Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, is still flying high after skydiving into Daytona International Speedway. He is now hoping that the exhilaration will just continue right into one of his better tracks Pocono Raceway.
“It was incredible,” Vickers said. “To be able to jump into Daytona was amazing.”
“Jumping into any other track would have been incredible but Daytona is the biggest event and the biggest track,” Vickers continued. “I thought it would be pretty appropriate and pretty cool to jump in there first.”
“To be able to see the track from that height was cool and it was beautiful,” Vickers said. “That picture is just burned in my mind for sure.”
Not only was the Daytona jump exhilarating for Vickers, but it was also a piece of unfinished business for the young driver. Finishing the Dover race this year also fell into that category as well.
“We had this scheduled last year and it got cancelled due to my health reasons,” Vickers said of his skydive. “So to be able to come back and finish it and to finish what we started meant a lot.”
“Jumping into Daytona and then finishing Dover were two very important things to me personally,” Vickers said. “Dover was the first race I missed so to finish that race and finish it well was important to me. Skydiving at Daytona was something we started in 2010 and to go back and finish that was very special.”
Vickers is counting on that exhilarating feeling from his jump carrying right over into his run at Pocono Raceway, one of his favorite tracks. In fact, Pocono is one of Vickers better tracks, having spent 73.4 percent of the laps in the top 15 in his last ten starts at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’
Vickers has started in the top ten in eight of his twelve starts at Pocono and he has had four top-five and five top-10 finishes. Pocono Raceway ranks second as far as top average-finish tracks for Vickers, with an average finish of 14.3 there.
“Pocono has been a good track for me,” Vickers said. “We’ve run well. I’ve sat on poles, we’ve been fast and I’ve finished second but we haven’t won here so there is unfinished business here too for sure.”
Vickers acknowledges that, as good as he is at Pocono, he along with all of the other drivers, will face some significant challenges. Among those are facing yet another potential fuel mileage race, as well as the new ability to shift.
“This race has been fuel strategy before but sometimes it’s just been a battle at the end,” Vickers said. “It just depends.”
“You can’t just plan on doing fuel strategy because it just depends on when the last caution falls,” Vickers continued. “It just depends on how the race plays out.”
“The shifting is going to be power shifting again and I think it’s better for the racing,” Vickers said. “We’ll see more passing.”
“I never understood why they stopped us from shifting,” Vickers continued. “It didn’t save anything or serve any purpose to my knowledge and it was harder to pass. It was a great decision to start shifting again.”
Another issue making the Triangle tricky in Vickers’ opinion is the heat, which is a bit of a carryover from the Kansas inferno of last weekend. Yet, Vickers definitely feels that plays right into his hands.
“It’s been very hot lately and the last couple of races have been very hot,” Vickers said. “I love it because I’m in the best shape of my life. It’s just an advantage that I have.”
Vickers also admitted that the heat not only makes the drivers miserably physically but can also lead to some heated emotions as well.
“There have been a lot of hot tempers lately,” Vickers said. “That’s just the emotional part of our sport.”
“It’s also just the personalities of each individual,” Vickers continued. “The hot head or temper has never been my thing.”
Vickers also acknowledged that the length of the race, the Five Hour Energy 500, can also take its toll, physically and emotionally.
“It’s a very long race and it’s actually too long,” Vickers said. “I love Pocono and I want to see them keep their race dates but I think to do that, they’re going to have to shorten the race.”
“The fans here are amazing and they almost always fill the stands,” Vickers continued. “I really enjoy racing on the track, but it’s too long. But it is what it is for now.”
Vickers’ final challenge at the ‘Tricky Triangle’ is figuring out his qualifying order strategy.
“You want to go out early for qualifying so you have to sandbag a little bit,” Vickers said. “But if it rains, you want to be in the front. So, it’s tough.”
“A lot of it is just going to be playing the weather and whoever makes the best guess for the weather will have that advantage,” Vickers continued. “If it looks like it’s going to rain, they’ll go as fast as they can to qualify late. But if it looks sunny and hot, you’ll see some guys lay off in practice.”
“It’s hard because you want to go fast,” Vickers said. “But there’s ways to do it without compromising the performance of the set up or the car.”
Vickers is also hoping, very earnestly, that Pocono will not only yield a good finish but will also help him continue to climb in the point standings. And, of course, he too has his eye on making the Chase, currently sitting 26th in the point standings, just 29 points shy of the 20th spot.
“We need to keep climbing,” Vickers said. “We got in a hole at the beginning of the year and we got into some wrecks early in the season. So, we need to get out of this hole.”
“I still think we can get there,” Vickers continued. “A win or two would put us in the Chase for the wild card and hopefully we can climb our way back up the hard way. But either way, I still think we have a shot at it.”
What was truly amazing to Vickers, however, was that he actually skydived into Daytona at 5,000 feet, which is just slightly longer than the front stretch of the Pocono Raceway at 3,740 feet.
“That’s crazy,” Vickers said. “It was exhilarating.”
