Martin Truex, Jr. practices for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Texas race at Martinsville Speedway. Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images
After a blown engine knocked him out of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup last Sunday at Talladega, the one thought that kept Martin Truex, Jr. from wallowing in despair was the prospect of winning Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
“As soon as we got together in the garage in Talladega – I literally pulled in there, got out and we all got together and said, ‘Let’s go win Martinsville, what do we have to do to win Martinsville?’” an emotional Truex said on Friday afternoon after winning the pole for Sunday’s race. “I think our attitude just instantly changed to, ‘okay we’re out of it, there’s nothing we can do about it now. Let’s not focus on this or rip us apart or pull us down or hold us back.’
“It’s not easy to do, so I’m really proud of our guys, road guys and guys at the shop – they put a lot of effort into this car, it’s brand new, to try to come here and be better than we were in the spring.”
Truex won twice in the Chase’s Round of 16 and looked like a solid pick to advance from the Round of 12 after winning the pole at Talladega. But the blown engine upended his entire season.
“I think that’s the most disappointing part for us is that we’ve probably been the strongest team all year long,” said Truex, who has recorded four of his seven career victories this season. “The flip side from that is that we haven’t been as consistent as we needed to be, and I think we understand that as well. Going forward, that will be something we focus on…
“As bad as it hurts that we’re not in the Chase anymore, and we aren’t going to win our first championship, we want to go out on a high note, we want to go out with momentum, and we want to go out with a lot of confidence for next year.”
Logano Underscores Importance Of A Martinsville Win
If Truex is to win at Martinsville, he’ll have to beat the driver starting beside him on the front row in Sunday’s race.
Joey Logano, who advanced to the Round of 8 on the strength of last Sunday’s victory at Talladega, knows only too well what a victory at the .526-mile short track could mean for his title hopes.
“Winning here at Martinsville might be the biggest win of the year,” said Logano, who lost the pole for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 to Truex by .008 seconds. “It might be what wins you a championship, if you think about it. Being in this Round of 8, if you win, you’re obviously going to Homestead (site of the Nov. 20 Championship 4 race). You know you’re not finishing worse than fourth in points, and it gives you the ability to think about nothing but Homestead for two weeks, while other teams have to think about the next two races to get themselves in.
“You’ve got to get there before you can win the championship, so I think it’s a pretty big advantage to win this one. This is a tough race, obviously. We’ve yet to win here. We’ve come close a few times, so we’ll just keep doing what we know how to do. We keep making constant progress at this race track as the 22 team, so I’m excited about that.”
Short Strokes
Will the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 truly be Jeff Gordon’s final race in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car? Probably. But the four-time champion, who is racing for the last time this season as a substitute for Dale Earnhardt, Jr., won’t rule out a future relief role – if team owner Rick Hendrick needs him. “Your guess is as good as mine,” said Gordon, whose most recent Cup win came last year at Martinsville in what was supposed to be his last season in the series. “I can promise you I had no intentions of this happening, but here I am. Never say never is all I know what to say. I really don’t think that I will be getting back in the Cup car again, but go ask Rick Hendrick. That really has more to do with him than anything else.”…
If you’re looking for a dark horse in Sunday’s race, David Ragan could fill the bill. For the first time this season, the driver of the No. 23 BK Racing Toyota advanced to the final round of knockout qualifying. He’ll start 12th on Sunday, the best initial position for BK in more than two years. Ragan’s strong performance wasn’t confined to qualifying trim. He was third fastest in Saturday’s first practice and fourth on the speed chart in Happy Hour…
In cool temperatures, Jamie McMurray paced Saturday’s opening Sprint Cup practice with a lap at 96.780 mph. In final practice, which ended at 12:55 p.m., Kyle Larson (McMurray’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate) posted the fastest lap at 96.088 mph. Chase driver Carl Edwards struggled in Happy Hour, posting the 27th-fastest speed despite running 71 laps.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Martinsville Speedway – Martinsville, VA
Goody’s Fast Relief 500 – October 30, 2016
Sundays’s Starting Lineup
1. (78) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 98.206 mph.
2. (22) Joey Logano (C), Ford, 98.165 mph.
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4. (47) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 97.729 mph.
5. (24) Chase Elliott #, Chevrolet, 97.699 mph.
6. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 97.684 mph.
7. (19) Carl Edwards (C), Toyota, 97.613 mph.
8. (11) Denny Hamlin (C), Toyota, 97.518 mph.
9. (18) Kyle Busch (C), Toyota, 97.508 mph.
10. (88) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 97.427 mph.
11. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 96.904 mph.
12. (23) David Ragan, Toyota, 96.830 mph.
13. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 97.422 mph.
14. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 97.372 mph.
15. (21) Ryan Blaney #, Ford, 97.292 mph.
16. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford, 97.292 mph.
17. (20) Matt Kenseth (C), Toyota, 97.222 mph.
18. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 97.172 mph.
19. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 97.073 mph.
20. (4) Kevin Harvick (C), Chevrolet, 97.048 mph.
21. (7) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 97.048 mph.
22. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 97.008 mph.
23. (41) Kurt Busch (C), Chevrolet, 96.968 mph.
24. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 96.914 mph.
25. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 97.058 mph.
26. (13) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 97.008 mph.
27. (93) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 97.008 mph.
28. (15) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 96.820 mph.
29. (34) Chris Buescher #, Ford, 96.666 mph.
30. (95) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 96.657 mph.
31. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 96.573 mph.
32. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 96.533 mph.
33. (38) Landon Cassill, Ford, 95.694 mph.
34. (55) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 95.381 mph.
35. (44) Brian Scott #, Ford, 95.295 mph.
36. (30) Gray Gaulding, Chevrolet, 95.146 mph.
37. (83) Dylan Lupton(i), Toyota, 94.794 mph.
38. (32) Jeffrey Earnhardt #, Ford, 94.548 mph.
39. (17) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, 92.997 mph.
40. (46) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.
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