Martin Truex Jr. has a solid starting spot of third for the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas. (Photo: Cole Penning | The Podium Finish)
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Martin Truex Jr. has showcased his stock car prowess over the years at Kansas Speedway.
With two wins, 10 top 10s and 17 top 10 finishes in 30 career starts, the 43-year-old Mayetta, New Jersey native is one of the top dogs at this intermediate track. Namely, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver swept the 2017 races in the penultimate season for Furniture Row Racing en route to a NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Truex has excelled at the tougher, grittier tracks where tire wear separates contenders from those merely competing. It is no secret that the 34-time Cup winner has scored his most recent wins on these venues like Darlington, Richmond and the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway.
While Truex ranks sixth in the Playoffs standings and sits 26 points above the cutoff, a victory will provide a breath of fresh air with the intense, competitive field. After a tough outing at Darlington, placing 18th, Truex is ready to pounce and contend for the win on Sunday afternoon.
Starting third for the second race of this year’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, the Garden State native explains what makes Kansas such an enjoyable track.
“I just enjoy the ability to move around here and find air and find lanes that work for you,” Truex said. “Generally here, everybody’s going to migrate to the wall and to the high side.
“But if you have a car that can turn down an exit and get off the corners good, you can make some good passes. So fun track to move around with and tire wear and all that comes into it. It’s fun as well.”
So far, it seems Truex is having plentiful fun as he posted the eighth fastest time in Saturday’s sole practice session. The 2017 Cup champion logged the fourth fastest 10 lap consecutive run in his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry, a telltale sign that he will be a part of the mix in Sunday’s 267-lap race.
Naturally, Truex finds a bit of comfort with racing at this storied stock car venue. Part of that may come from some similarities with one of his best Cup tracks situated in Southern Florida.
Martin Truex Jr. enjoys the daunting, trickier speedways as seen last weekend at Darlington. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
“I would say Kansas is a lot like Homestead but with a tri-oval,” he said in a team press release. “Similar corners and little bit of progressive banking. The wall has really come into play the last couple of years there since the asphalt has worn out. So, running high is very important there, and also momentum is very important at Kansas.
“You have a big, wide front straightaway that gives you the option to make big bold moves on the restarts where it can get pretty wild there. Kansas is definitely high on my list of places I like to race and we are hoping for a great weekend there with our Bass Pro Shops Camry.”
As Truex pursues a strong, clean race at Kansas, he realizes that his Gibbs stablemates are vying for spots in the Round of 12. When it comes down to it, there is a fine line between aggressive pursuits and courteous considerations.
The bottom line may be Truex finding the balance between lending a hand with chasing a critical victory down the stretch. Based on experiences, the grizzled veteran is not too worried about this delicate, likely heightened storyline if the Gibbs trio excel in this year’s postseason.
“A lot can happen in the Playoffs, which we have seen in the past, we just have to worry about ourselves and be consistent and try to execute and we will be fine,” Truex said. “The other guys, the 11 (Denny Hamlin) and 20 (Christopher Bell), are fast.
“It is always tough to race with your teammates because you all have the same thing and you share everything during the week, so how do you find that extra little bit? I think James (Small, crew chief) has done a really good job of that this year, and we will look to keep it going.”
Editor’s Notes
Brooklyn Jackson contributed to this article on-site from Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas.
