In the first three crown jewel races of 2016 Martin Truex Jr. had finishes of second (Daytona 500), first (Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte) and eighth (Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis) for an average result of 3.7.
The Furniture Row Racing driver will be looking to continue his strong performance in NASCAR’s final crown jewel of the season — the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway scheduled for Sunday night.
“Yes, we’ve had a pretty good run this year at the big races and hopefully we can nail down another strong finish this weekend,” noted Truex.
Truex, who will be driving a throwback No. 78 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota at the 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval, has completed all but four laps (3,677 of 3681) in 10 career Sprint Cup starts at the daunting Darlington configuration, better known as The Track Too Tough to Tame.
“Darlington is one of my favorite tracks,” said Truex. “It’s such a fun place to race but at the same time it is one of the most difficult tracks. You have to attack the track and put it on the edge every lap. In order to attack Darlington you need to feel comfortable with the speed, downforce and grip or the track will grab you and put you into the wall. Though it has many challenges, Darlington is still an awesome track and there’s nothing like it.”
With two regular-season Sprint Cup Series races remaining before the start of the 10-race Chase playoff, Truex says the Darlington and Richmond races will be opportunities to develop a winning rhythm heading into the post-season.
“We’re going through a tough streak of bad luck in terms of finishes,” said Truex. “The good news is that our performances have been strong during this period. If we can reverse the luck factor I feel that we can compete with anyone out there.”
Truex’s Sprint Cup record at Darlington includes one top five, four top 10s, 98 laps led and an average finish of 12.7.
Darlington Race Kicks Off Childhood
And Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
The Bojangles’ Southern 500 will also be a crown jewel event for the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation and its two flagship fundraising charities – childhood and ovarian cancer.
With September designated as childhood and ovarian cancer awareness month, a number of NASCAR drivers’ steering wheels during the month of September will have a combination paint scheme of teal (ovarian cancer color) and gold (childhood cancer color). The inspired MPI steering wheels will be auctioned off in October on the NASCAR Foundation’s charitable auction line.
Drivers taking part with the teal/gold steering wheel will be: Truex, Justin Allgaier, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Casey Mears, Paul Menard, Danica Patrick, David Ragan and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fans can donate to the teal and gold efforts by texting: STRONG to 50155.
Truex Jr.’s 2016 Results
No. Date Event St Fn Laps Led Status Points Standing
1 2/21 Daytona 500 28 2 200/200 2 Running 40/40 2
2 2/28 Atlanta 9 7 330/330 34 Running 20*/60 2
3 3/6 Las Vegas 10 11 267/267 0 Running 30/90 9
4 3/13 Phoenix 8 14 313/313 0 Running 27/117 9
5 3/20 Fontana 17 32 204/205 21 Running 10/127 11
6 4/3 Martinsville 16 18 500/500 0 Running 23/150 11
7 4/9 Fort Worth 3 6 334/334 141 Running 37/187 11
8 4/17 Bristol 8 14 500/500 0 Running 27/214 10
9 4/24 Richmond 22 9 400/400 0 Running 32/246 10
10 5/1 Talladega 12 13 188/188 0 Running 28/274 9
11 5/7 Kansas 1 14 267/267 172 Running 29/303 10
12 5/15 Dover 7 9 267/267 47 Running 33/336 9
13 5/29 Charlotte 1 1 400/400 392 Running 45/381 7
14 6/6 Pocono 17 19 160/160 0 Running 22/403 9
15 6/12 Michigan 2 12 200/200 10 Running 30/433 8
16 6/26 Sonoma 3 5 110/110 0 Running 36/469 8
17 7/2 Daytona 15 29 127/161 1 Running 13/482 7
18 7/9 Kentucky 7 10 267/267 46 Running 32/514 7
19 7/17 Loudon 3 16 301/301 123 Running 26/540 7
20 7/24 Indianapolis 8 8 170/170 0 Running 33/573 7
21 8/1 Pocono 1 38 82/138 16 Accident 4/577 8
22 8/7 Watkins Glen 14 7 90/90 1 Running 35/612 8
23 8/14 Bristol 7 23 496/500 0 Running 18/630 8
24 8/28 Michigan 14 20 199/200 7 Running 22/652 8
Top 5s: 3 Top-10s: 10 Poles: 3 Laps Led: 1,013 Avg Start: 9.7 Avg. Finish: 14.0
*penalized 15 points
-continued-
Truex’s Career Record at Darlington Raceway
Year Start Finish Status/Laps Laps Led
2006 39 14 Running, 367/367 0
2007 25 11 Running, 367/367 0
2008 22 14 Running, 367/367 11
2009 16 6 Running, 367/367 61
2010 33 19 Running, 366/367 0
2011 29 10 Running, 370/370 1
2012 6 5 Running, 368/368 25
2013 5 12 Running, 367/367 0
2014 12 27 Running, 371/374 0
2015 7 9 Running/367/367 0
Darlington Raceway Totals
Races Win T5 T10 Pole Laps Led Laps Completed AvgSt AvgFn DNF
10 0 1 4 0 98 3310 of 3314
99.9% 19.4 12.7 0
Furniture Row Racing Traveling Roster, 2016
No. 78 Over-the-Wall Crew
Front-tire changer Chris Taylor, West Plains, Mo.
Front-tire carrier Chris Hall, Springfield, Mo.
Rear-tire changer Lee Cunningham, Lake River, IL
Rear-tire carrier Adam Mosher, Fort Mill, S.C.
Jackman Bailey Walker, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Gasman Brian Dheel, Norton, Ohio
No. 78 Road Crew
President Joe Garone, Denver, Colo.
Crew Chief Cole Pearn, London, Ontario, Canada
Car Chief Blake Harris, Maypearl, Texas
Race Engineers Jeff Curtis, Fairfax Station, Va.
Pete Craik, Melbourne, Australia
Data/IT/Engineer Ryan Kelly, London, Ontario, Canada
Engine Tuner Greg Huls, Beatrice, Neb.
Engine Engineer Jon Grove, Mandurah, Australia
Engine Builder TRD, U.S.A
Spotters Clayton Hughes, Thomasville, N.C.
Shock Specialist Nick Kerlin, Old Fort, Ohio
Tire Specialist Tommy DiBlasi, Annapolis, Md.
Front-End Mechanic Gary Frost, Romeo, Mich.,
Rear-End Mechanic Nino Venezia, Philadelphia
Floater Mechanic Todd Carmichael, Redding, Calif.
Transportation Chuck Lemay, DeKalb, IL, Barry Huston, Bloomingdale, Mich., Roy Miller, Elkridge, Md., Roger Pritchard, Hutchinson, Kan., Henry Benfield, Statesville, N.C.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
