NASCAR
Can Martin Truex Jr Finally Get His First Short Track Win at Richmond Raceway?
There aren’t many things left in the sport of NASCAR that hasn’t been accomplished by Martin Truex Jr. However, the 2017 Cup Series champion has yet to win on a short track. Truex has been close many times, but has yet to check this box. Can Martin Truex Jr mark his first short track win this weekend at Richmond Raceway?
Truex’s Richmond Raceway Stats
With Martin Truex Jr having 25 career starts at Richmond Raceway, only having 2 top 5s on the Virginia short track is surprising. In spite of these results, Truex has been strong at Richmond in recent races. Of his 560 career laps led at Richmond, 512 have been in the last 4 races.
In the fall Richmond race a season ago, Truex was within a mile of his first short track win. He had dominated that night, leading 198 of 404 laps. As Truex was coming to the white flag, a caution came out, setting up an overtime finish. On the restart, Truex crashed when Denny Hamlin made contact with the 78 in turn 1. This ended up in the 78 finishing 20th. This race in particular was a tough one to walk away from for Truex, as it was the closest he has been to his first short track win.
This past spring’s race at Richmond was much of the same for the 78 team, starting from the pole. Once again, Truex had a dominant car, leading 121 laps before finishing 14th. Truex’s best career finish at Richmond Raceway was 3rd in 2016.
Expect the 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota to be as fast as it has been in recent memory this weekend at Richmond. Last week in Las Vegas was Truex’s first top 10 result in 5 races. With the strong finish, Truex has the points lead for only the 2nd week this season. While there are no guarantees in racing, the current points leader has momentum on his side. Truex should have a top 10 car on speed alone, so it will be up to his team’s execution to keep him up front.
Truex’s Outlook on Richmond
With the chaos that ensued last week at Las Vegas, Richmond could be even more unpredictable. “We’re at a point where that short track mentality at Richmond could make for a crazy night, especially with late-race restarts,” Truex said. “You know some of the guys are going to do whatever it takes to try and get locked into the next round and that could cause some havoc. You never know, but definitely need to be prepared for all possibilities.”
The 78 is not only looking for a breakout performance at Richmond. Furniture Row Racing is as dedicated as ever to winning the championship, in their lame duck season. If the 78 car does win, it would mark Truex’s first short track win. Tune in Saturday night to see if Martin Truex Jr can win race 2 of the Playoffs at Richmond Raceway.
