Truex and his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota crew have been remarkably constant to begin 2024 with one high 5 and 4 top-10s within the first six races and no end worse than fifteenth.
He was within the hunt for the win at each Phoenix and Bristol – the place he earned a season’s-best second – however has but to lock in a playoff spot with a win.
This weekend’s race at Richmond (Va.) Raceway will make the most of the identical brief monitor aero package deal as Phoenix, a race by which Truex led the third-most laps and was received by his JGR teammate, Christopher Bell.
Over his final 10 begins at Richmond, Truex has three wins and has completed exterior the top-10 simply as soon as.
Race winner Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry
Picture by: Logan Whitton / NKP / Motorsport Photographs
“From the primary time I raced there in 2003, I’ve all the time loved the monitor. There was an extended interval the place I didn’t have nice numbers there, however I felt like I liked the monitor and all the time ran properly there and had quite a lot of loopy issues occur there all through my profession,” Truex, 43, mentioned.
“As soon as I acquired to Furnishings Row (Racing), we began main a ton of laps there. We additionally had a few heartbreaking finishes there the place we should always have received the race however didn’t and I questioned if it was ever going to occur.
“Then, we went on a streak there, so it’s been an excellent monitor and it’s a ton of enjoyable.”
Regardless of his run of success at Richmond, Truex admits he has struggled considerably on the collection’ shorter tracks for the reason that introduction of the Subsequent Gen automotive in the beginning of the 2022 season.
His most up-to-date win on a monitor shorter than a mile in size was at Richmond within the fall of 2021.
“Brief tracks have been a problem, however I really feel like we’ve been gaining on it within the final yr and definitely, beginning at Phoenix, we had a robust automotive,” Truex mentioned. “With the shifting and with how the brakes are on these vehicles, it’s so totally different than it was earlier than.
“I feel shifting has been the most important distinction, however you have got the braking to go together with that. Then you have got the unbiased rear suspension and the differential and all these issues go together with one another to what we’ve now.
“We virtually have greater than the brakes and tires may even take, so it’s been powerful to attempt to modulate that and check out to not lock up the rear tires. It’s been a problem.”
Truex hopes the brand new brief monitor aero package deal will present some much-needed assist in going through these difficulties.
Among the many modifications made are a simplified diffuser, use of the 2023 brief monitor/highway course splitter stuffers, removing of engine panel strakes, a three-inch spoiler, and simplified diffuser strakes.
“That is the primary true brief monitor with a number of the tweaks they’ve made to the package deal, so we’ll see if that has helped a few of that or not,” he mentioned.
