Monday, August 2, 2010
Truex moves advances from 28th-place start to 9th-place finish at Pocono
That final pit stop made all the difference for Martin Truex Jr. Sunday during the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500. That’s when crew chief Pat Tryson opted to take two tires for the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota. The decision allowed Truex to restart seventh with 23 laps remaining in the race. Because most of the other teams elected to take four tires, Truex was able to hold off most of the field to cross the Pocono Raceway finish line in ninth place.
“A little bit of strategy played into it,” said Truex, a two-time Nationwide Series champion. “We were sitting about 12th before we took the two tires, so we gained a few spots. We were about a 12th or 15th-place car, and we finished ninth. That’s the kind of day we like to have and the kind of days we’ve needed to have the last two months – we’ve just been caught in wrecks.”
Greg Biffle of the No. 16 car won the race. Next came Tony Stewart of the No. 14 car, Carl Edwards in the No. 99 car and Kevin Harvick in the No. 29 car.
Truex started the race in 28th place after posting a time of 53.587 seconds at 167.951 mph. Truex’s No. 56 car came to life at about the 50-lap mark when it edged up from 22nd place to 17th place. By lap 123, he broke into the top 15. Truex’s car made contact with Edwards’ car during lap 132, but no damage was reported.
The race marks Truex’s fifth top-10 finish of the season, and he remains 20th in the Sprint Cup driver standings.
“I’m just glad we got a decent finish out of the NAPA Toyota, and I’m proud of all the guys on the team,” Truex said.
In fact, Truex’s team won the Mobil 1 Command Performance of the Race award.
Next up for the Sprint Cup Series is the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen on Sunday, Aug. 8 in New York.
Race information courtesy of Michael Waltrip Racing
“A little bit of strategy played into it,” said Truex, a two-time Nationwide Series champion. “We were sitting about 12th before we took the two tires, so we gained a few spots. We were about a 12th or 15th-place car, and we finished ninth. That’s the kind of day we like to have and the kind of days we’ve needed to have the last two months – we’ve just been caught in wrecks.”
Greg Biffle of the No. 16 car won the race. Next came Tony Stewart of the No. 14 car, Carl Edwards in the No. 99 car and Kevin Harvick in the No. 29 car.
Truex started the race in 28th place after posting a time of 53.587 seconds at 167.951 mph. Truex’s No. 56 car came to life at about the 50-lap mark when it edged up from 22nd place to 17th place. By lap 123, he broke into the top 15. Truex’s car made contact with Edwards’ car during lap 132, but no damage was reported.
The race marks Truex’s fifth top-10 finish of the season, and he remains 20th in the Sprint Cup driver standings.
“I’m just glad we got a decent finish out of the NAPA Toyota, and I’m proud of all the guys on the team,” Truex said.
In fact, Truex’s team won the Mobil 1 Command Performance of the Race award.
Next up for the Sprint Cup Series is the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen on Sunday, Aug. 8 in New York.
Race information courtesy of Michael Waltrip Racing
Labels: Greg Biffle, Heluva Good Sour Cream Dips, Martin Truex Jr., Michael Waltrip Racing, Pat Tryson, Pocono Raceway, Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 race, TireMonkey.com, Tony Stewart
# posted by Megan @ 8:46 PM
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