Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Martin Truex Jr. hoping for similar Dover run from May

Martin Truex Jr. is 12/1 to win at Dover this week.
As a Furniture Row Racing driver Dover has been best-finishing track

DENVER, Colo. (Sept. 29 2015) – The next three Sprint Cup races – Dover, Charlotte and Kansas City — carry a positive statistic for Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet.

He led the most laps earlier in the year at each of those three venues – 131 at Dover, also 131 at Charlotte and 95 at Kansas City.

“We had great cars but let those races slip away – that’s the bad news,” said Truex, who finished sixth at Dover, fifth at Charlotte and ninth at Kansas City. “The good news is that we have a pretty good handle on each of those tracks. But right now, our only concern is Dover and making sure we advance into the next round of the Chase.”

Heading into Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover’s Monster Mile, Truex is positioned ninth in the 16-driver Chase point standings. Following Dover, four drivers will be eliminated and the remaining 12 will advance to the next round of three races with a clean slate of points.

“We’re still in it, but it’s tight and everyone is playing hardball, which is the way it should be in the Chase playoffs,” said Truex, who scored his first Sprint Cup victory at Dover on June 4, 2007. “We just need to duplicate what we did in New Hampshire, race smart, make no errors and avoid bad breaks.”

Though Dover has been the best-finishing track for Truex as a Furniture Row driver (6.33 average finish in three races – 6th, 7th, 6th), he is very well aware of the challenges that the all-concrete 1-mile oval presents.

“Dover’s a tough racetrack — high bank, high speed,” said the Mayetta, N.J. native, who calls Dover his home track. “The concrete surface there makes it a huge challenge. The key, as hard as it sounds, is to get the car somewhat comfortable. That place is so treacherous you have to really drive on the edge all day long.

“But Dover has been good for me during my career. It’s a place I have really enjoyed. My first time there was back in 2000 in the Busch North Series and I feel like I have a good understanding of the track. We had a great run there in June, led most of the first half of the race. We feel like we know a couple of things that we need to do a little bit better to try to finish the deal off. Right now it’s all about trying to beat the 48 at Dover (Jimmie Johnson). It’s a good place for us to close out the first round of the Chase.”

In 19 career Cup starts at Dover, Truex has one win, one top-five, nine top-10s and has led 358 laps. His average start is 13.6 and average finish is 15.3.

Truex’s Career Record at Dover
YearStartFinishStatus/LapsLaps LedEarnings
20062122Running, 399/4000107,783
336Running, 400/4000123,283
2007261Running, 400/400216295,045
513Running, 399/4000103,170
2008206Running, 400/4000145,433
1620Running, 399/4000105,308
20091521Running, 399/4000122,165
3233Crash,
251/400
0105,790
2010112Running, 400/400298,675
334Running, 383/400467,700
201188Running, 400/4001109,425
130Running, 396/400293,100
2012187Running, 400/4000140,204
36Running, 400/4000132,674
2013238Engine,
279/400
2113,405
1015Running, 399/4000116,835
2014166Running, 400/4000144,878
267Running, 400/4000125,573
201526Running, 405/405131148,815
Dover International Speedway Totals
RacesWinT5T10PoleLaps LedLaps CompletedAvgStAvgFnDNFMoney
1911923587309 of 7605
96.1%
13.615.322,399,261
Truex’s 2015 Sprint Cup Series Results
 No.DateEventStFnLapsLedStatusMoneyPointsStanding
12/22Daytona 500108203/2031Running489,772378
23/1Atlanta146325/3250Running150,61538/755
33/8Las Vegas82267/2673Running268,95043/1184
43/15Phoenix157312/3120Running121,02537/1553
53/22Fontana128209/2095Running136,24037/1923
63/29Martinsville36500/50023Running118,66539/2313
74/11Fort Worth159334/3340Running163,38035/2663
84/19Bristol1629504/5110Running120,12015/2813
94/26Richmond610400/4000Running114,71034/3153
105/3Talladega365188/1880Running169,60039/3542
115/9Kansas49267/26795Running122,06037/3912
125/24Charlotte95600/00131Running187,35041/4322
135/31Dover26405/405131Running148,81540/4722
146/7Pocono31160/16097Running201,81048/5202
156/14Michigan93138/1380Running137,58041/5612
166/28Sonoma124231/1100Crash88,1952/5632
177/5Daytona1938105/1100Crash115,6486/5695
187/11Kentucky517267/2670Running111,03527/5965
197/19Loudon1512301/3010Running117,48532/6285
207/26Indianapolis134164/1640Running283,17040/6685
218/2Pocono1319160/1606Running106,01526/6945
228/9Watkins Glen22590/905Running102,33520/7146
238/16Michigan223200/2000Running137,13041/7554
248/22Bristol2328495/5000Running127,17516/7716
259/6Darlington79367/3670Running129,66035/8066
269/12Richmond1632394/4000Running102,83512/8187
279/20Chicagoland413267/26739Running131,67032/203511
289/27Loudon218300/3000Running121,21036/2719
Top 5s: 7   Top 10s: 18   Laps Led: 536  Avg. St: 12.0  Avg. Fn: 13.0  Money: $4,324,255

- DMF Communications for Furniture Row Racing

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