Martin Truex Jr. holds New Hampshire Motor Speedway quite close to his heart. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
LOUDON, N.H. – Although Martin Truex Jr. hails from Mayetta, New Jersey, he is an honorary New Englander by nature and trade.
In the early 1990s, the Garden State native would watch his father, Martin Truex Sr. duke it out against the best of the NASCAR XFINTY Series, then known as the Busch Series. Truex’s father was a staying power in the Busch North Series, a division granted a few spots to battle it out in the Grand National rendition of this series.
Learning from his namesake patriarch figure, those early memories strengthened his love of motorsports. Those early memories occurred at “The Magic Mile” otherwise known as New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
“I was sitting in the grandstands watching him the first time I came here,” Truex said. “I might have been 8 or 10. I don’t remember what year it was. As soon as I was old enough to be in the garage, this was the first place I’d seen Cup cars and Busch cars and seen the drivers and all that walking around. I think it was ’92.
“They used to have a combination race they called it back in the day. I’m sure some of you remember. But the Busch North Series had some spots where they could run in the Busch race. My dad was in that and he was parked in the garage, nose-to-nose with Dale Earnhardt.”
For the younger Truex, it would be comparable to seeing one’s father take to the hardwood court with Larry Bird. Perhaps in that case, New Hampshire Motor Speedway is like the original Boston Garden, particularly for the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion.
Truex has some fond memories of “The Magic Mile.” (Photo: Sam Draiss | The Podium Finish)
“Just getting to see his car and seeing him walk around the garage, those are some of my fond, earliest memories of racing (which) was coming up here,” he said. “A lot of cool stuff happened to me up here so it’s a big deal.”
From those days walking in the garage area as a fan to his status as a 33-time Cup race winner, Truex remains one of the most consistent frontrunners in NASCAR’s top division. Nowadays, that young man sports some grays in his hair and a beard that makes him look more like an avid outdoorsman.
Then again, Truex is one of the series’ most tenacious, successful flat and short track talents in Cup. Presently, the driver of the No. 19 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry has seven wins total at venues similar to New Hampshire such as Richmond, Martinsville and Phoenix.
In particular, the Joe Gibbs Racing organization places emphasis on succeeding at these tracks. Likewise, Truex observes how his team works in tandem with Gibbs allies in Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs.
“I think in general, we’ve been good on short tracks since I’ve been at Toyota in 2016. Short tracks, Richmond and here, all the smaller (tracks), Martinsville. We put a lot of effort into short tracks and it seems to work out and I think our drivers have a good understanding of that and we can work together and come up with a good package.”
Aerodynamics, fuel mileage, tire management and handling are always important no matter the circuit. However, those are all important along with consistently clean, fast pit stops.
The pain of losing last year’s Crayon 301 lingers in Truex’s mind especially after a dominant performance in which he started from the pole, led 172 laps and slipped to a fourth place result.
This year, Truex does not intend to let a lobster and trophy slip away from him and his No. 19 team. (Photo: Sam Draiss | The Podium Finish)
“I felt like last year, we gave it away again,” he said. “I don’t know what we have to do here. It’s one that I wanted really bad for a long time. Maybe too much. It’s been a tough one for sure. We’ll see. We’ve got speed and we’re starting out front. That’s a key here. We’ll see what we can come up with. I’m looking forward to it.”
Like Dale Earnhardt’s pursuit of the Daytona 500, Truex wants to win the Crayon 301 at New Hampshire from a professional and sentimental standpoint. Even with his crown jewel wins at Charlotte and Darlington, one of the remaining trophies that he would like to add to his mantle comes from the Granite State.
“This place is a big reason why I got to where I am,” Truex said. “Winning up here as a kid, winning in front of the Busch (XFINITY) Series and Cup guys, all that, that’s what kind of put me in the map.
“I’ve been coming up here since I was 10 or 12 years old. Looking forward to hopefully winning a Cup race up here before I retire.”
Editor’s Notes
Nathan Solomon contributed to this article on site from New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire.
