Martin Truex Jr. started his 2007 NASCAR Chase for the Cup in positive fashion, finishing fifth in Sunday’s Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway.
After starting the event on the outside pole position, Truex ran in the top-10 for the majority of the event. However, he fought a tight condition with his racecar until late in the race.
Crew chief Kevin Manion and the team began looking for ways to improve the car’s handling, making air pressure and other adjustments to the car on virtually every pit stop. Eventually, the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet began to respond to the changes and Truex pitted for the last time on lap 238 after leading a lap to collect five bonus points.
Manion called for four fresh tires, gas and a spring rate adjustment on the final stop. The pit crew did their job to perfection, completing their work in 12.99 seconds.
On lap 249, Truex radioed his crew and said, “The car is awesome. This is definitely the best it’s been all day. ” “Your lap times are great, ” replied Manion. “Just hang in there because some of the cars in front of you are backing up. ”
The Mayetta, NJ native began to pick off some of the leaders before settling for his sixth top-five finish of the year.
“The car just wouldn’t turn in the middle of the corners, ” Truex said. “The same thing happened to us here in the summer, but we got the car fixed earlier in the race. I think we were a little afraid to take too big a swing at it and that’s probably my fault. Bono and the guys kept working on it and it was about perfect there at the end.
“We needed a good race to start off the Chase and we got it. You definitely don’t want to dig yourself into a hole the first race. I’m really proud of all the guys. Now we can go to Dover with some momentum. ”
Truex is sixth in NASCAR Nextel Cup Series points.
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