MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Like many of his fellow competitors in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, Dale Earnhardt Inc. driver Martin Truex Jr. has expressed concern with the dreaded “aero push” that many drivers experienced in the Sprint All-Star Challenge last weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
“These cars seem to get so tight,” Truex said. “It seems that passing is harder than ever. I would get within 20 car lengths of somebody Saturday night (during the Sprint All-Star race) and my car would start to tighten up. Track position is everything. If you’re out front you can go, but in traffic the car becomes a handful.
“Obviously, some of the guys have it figured out,” continued the driver of the No.1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet. “But a lot more of the teams have struggled, including a few that were really good in the COT last year. You see a lot of guys scratching their heads.”
Truex knows that good communication between driver and crew chief is especially crucial until the team feels comfortable at every track.
“It’s up to me to give Bono (crew chief Kevin Manion) as much feedback that I can on how the car is handling and how it’s reacting to changes that the team makes. Then it’s up to him and the guys to take that feedback and make the car faster. Every test session, practice session and race is time for us to keep learning and keep improving.
“Charlotte has always been a little bit of a trouble spot for us,” said Truex of the 1.5-mile Lowe’s Motor Speedway, site of Sunday’s event. “It’s kind of weird, because we’ve always run well at Texas and Atlanta and those tracks are similar to Charlotte. We’re bringing the car that we used in those races this year, so I think we’ll be pretty good on Sunday.”
Truex is currently 15th in points, but only 36 points out of 12th.
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