In the past few weeks, Martin Truex Jr. has had good race cars but couldn’t get good finishes. He managed to reverse that trend Sunday, coming home third in the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, an event won by Jimmie Johnson.
The weekend started on a high note for Truex, who won his first career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series pole.
Once the race began, Truex began complaining of a “loose” condition with his car. Crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion and the Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats team would begin making changes on the first pit stop and continue throughout the race, trying to provide their driver with more grip in the rear tires.
After falling back as far as 13th in the middle portion of the race, the changes gradually began to have the desired effect and Truex would eventually work his way back into the top five.
The battle with the car didn’t end there and Manion and the team continued to try different air pressures for the tires, along with wedge and track bar adjustments.
“I think we might’ve missed the setup a little bit today, Martin, ” Manion said. “Just hang onto it and bring it home in one piece. ”
Truex did just that, coming home with his first top-three finish of the Chase.
“We really struggled with the car all day, ” Truex said. “We got it too loose early in the race and just had to keep working on it. It was actually pretty good there at the end.
“The last few weeks we’ve had good cars but we couldn’t get the finish we deserved. This was probably the worst car we’ve had in the Chase but we managed to finish third with it. It’s nice to see our luck change a little bit.
“I can’t say enough about the guys. We tore this car up last week and they worked night and day to put it back together for me. That’s the kind of effort they’ve given me all year. ”
Truex is 12th in NASCAR Nextel Cup Series points.
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