Martin Truex Jr. is prepping for two all-star events this week, both being conducted in North Carolina, 1500 miles from Denver, CO, where his NASCAR Cup Series team is based.
First on the docket for the Furniture Row Racing driver is Wednesday’s (May 17) Catwalk for a Cause, the annual Martin Truex Jr. Foundation fundraiser for childhood and ovarian cancers.
The site for the star-studded event that is expected to attract up to 700 guests will be at the Statesville (N.C.) Regional Airport from 5:30-10 p.m. Award-winning Florida Georgia Line will perform at Catwalk, which will include 15 “Catwalk Heroes” ages 3 to 17 who will walk the runway with NASCAR drivers. Furniture Row is the presenting sponsor of Catwalk for a Cause.
A few days later on Saturday night (May 20) Truex, who is coming off his second victory of the season last Saturday night at Kansas Speedway, will be one of 20 drivers competing in the prestigious NASCAR’s Cup Series All-Star Race which will be contested at the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway.
5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength will be the primary sponsor on Truex’s No. 78 Toyota for the All-Star Race.
“The All‑Star Race is always exciting, and after winning the (Coca-Cola) 600 last year (at Charlotte Motor Speedway), I am looking forward to going there in the 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota and trying to back that up,” said Truex. “Should be fun. But I do know the tires at the end are going to be a big deal, and I assume if you give people the option for soft tires, the whole field is going to take it, so I’m not really sure what that’s going to change. We’ll have to wait and see.”
The race, which will pay $1 million to the winner, will feature four stages (20 laps / 20 laps / 20 laps / 10 laps), totaling 70 laps. The goal for all competitors is to earn a spot in the final 10-lap, 10-car stage. The winner of each of the first three stages will lock up a spot in the final stage, as long as they remain on the lead lap after the third stage. The cars with the best average finish in the first three stages will make up the remaining spots needed to fill the 10-car final stage.
“It’s all about winning,” said Truex. “It’s a non-points race and nobody will remember who finished second.”
This will be Truex’s seventh time competing in the All-Star Race. His best finish was second in 2010. Truex’s best result at Charlotte Motor Speedway was winning last year’s Coca-Cola 600 in record fashion, leading 392 of 400 laps.
Truex’s All-Star Race Results
| Year | Start | Finish | Status/Laps | Laps Led |
| 2005 | 22 | 22 | Crash, 35/90 |
0 |
| 2007 | 19 | 10 | Running, 80/80 |
0 |
| 2008 | 4 | 16 | Running, 100/100 |
0 |
| 2010 | 19 | 2 | Running, 100/100 |
0 |
| 2014 | 12 | 18 | Crash, 60/90 | 0 |
| 2016 | 9 | 14 | Running, 113/113 | 0 |
All-Star Race Totals
| Races | Win | T5 | T10 | Pole | Laps Led | AvgSt | AvgFn | DNF |
| 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14,2 | 13.6 | 2 |
Truex’s 2017 NASCAR Cup Series Results
| No. | Date | Event | St | Fn | Stage
Wins |
Laps | Led | Status | Playoff/
Stage Pts |
Standing
Points |
Standing |
| 1 | 2/26 | Daytona 500 | 35 | 13 | 0 | 200/200 | 2 | Running | 0/0 | 24 | 17 |
| 2 | 3/5 | Atlanta | 9 | 8 | 0 | 325/325 | 0 | Running | 0/14 | 43/67 | 7 |
| 3 | 3/12 | Las Vegas | 2 | 1 | 2 | 267/267 | 150 | Running | 7/20 | 60/127 | 4 |
| 4 | 3/19 | Phoenix | 16 | 11 | 0 | 314/314 | 0 | Running | 0/0 | 26/153 | 4 |
| 5 | 3/26 | Fontana | 4 | 4 | 1 | 202/202 | 73 | Running | 1/19 | 52/205 | 3 |
| 6 | 4/2 | Martinsville | 3 | 16 | 1 | 500/500 | 42 | Running | 1/10 | 31/236 | 3 |
| 7 | 4/9 | Texas | 7 | 8 | 0 | 334/334 | 49 | Running | 0/10 | 39/275 | 3 |
| 8 | 4/24 | Bristol | 3 | 8 | 1 | 500/500 | 116 | Running | 1/19 | 48/323 | 3 |
| 9 | 5/1 | Richmond | 3 | 10 | 0 | 400/400 | 0 | Running | 0/8 | 35/358 | 2 |
| 10 | 5/7 | Talladega | 13 | 35 | 0 | 168/191 | 0 | Crash | 0/14 | 16/374 | 2 |
| 11 | 5/13 | Kansas | 3 | 1 | 0 | 267/267 | 104 | Running | 5/17 | 57/431 | 2 |
Wins: 2 Top 5s: 3 Top 10s: 7 Lap Led: 536 Avg. Start: 8.9 Avg. Finish: 10.5
Stage Wins: 5 Stage Pts: 131 Playoff Bonus Pts: 15
No. 78 Over-the-Wall Crew, 2017
| 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 Furniture Row Racing Road Crew, 2017
| President | Joe Garone, Denver, Colo. |
| Crew Chief | Cole Pearn, London, Ontario, Canada |
| Car Chief | Blake Harris, Maypearl, Texas |
| Ass’t Car Chief | Greg Emmer, Allenton, Wis. |
| Race Engineers | Jeff Curtis, Fairfax Station, Va.
Pete Craik, Melbourne, Australia |
| Engine Tuner | Gregg Huls, Beatrice, Neb. |
| Engine Engineer | Jon Grove, Mandurah, Australia |
| Engine Builder | Toyota Racing Development (TRD) |
| Spotter | Clayton Hughes, Thomasville, N.C. |
| Shock Specialist | Nick Kerlin, Old Fort, Ohio |
| Tire Specialist | Tommy DiBlasi, Annapolis, Md. |
| Front-End Mechanic | Nino Venezia, Philadelphia |
| Rear-End Mechanic | Rob Fairweather, Westbrookville, N.Y. |
| IT Support | Eric Cragun, Pleasant View, Utah |
| Pit Support | Ed Watkins, Richmond, Va. |
| Transportation | Chuck Lemay, DeKalb, IL, Barry Huston, Bloomingdale, Mich., Roy Miller, Elkridge, Md., Roger Pritchard, Hutchinson, Kan. |
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
