Update: Truex has Time Disallowed in Qualifying
JOLIET, Ill. – Martin Truex Jr. looks to win his third straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in Sunday’s Overton’s 400.
The defending series champion won for the third time this season with a dominating and strategy-assisted performance last week at Sonoma Raceway. Now he rides into Chicagoland with a great deal of momentum and optimism about finding Victory lane for a second straight weekend.
“This team is all about talent, heart and passion,” Truex said. “They keep on bringing me fast race cars and Cole (Pearn, crew chief) has made a couple of great calls at both Pocono and Sonoma. We just need to keep on improving because I know the other contenders are not going to sit still.”
Sitting still is something Truex Jr. hasn’t done much during his Cup Series career at Chicagoland Speedway. His record at the 1.5-mile track is very impressive led by a pair of victories in 2016 and 2017.
Overall he’s made 12 starts, with two wins, two top fives, four top 10s and 176 laps led. His average starting position is 14.2 and average finish is 13.8.
Both wins came in the face of challenges including a tire issue in 2016 and a pit road speeding penalty in last year’s victory. Those races were held in September as the playoff opener and Truex Jr. is hoping the shift back to a summer date at Chicagoland will continue to bring him success.
“Yeah, I feel great about that — going for three in a row at Chicago,” Truex said. “A little sad it’s not kicking off the playoffs anymore just because of our record there, but at the same time, great racetrack and excited to go there and see what we can do.
“We had to overcome some issues the past two years at Chicagoland and hopefully we will have a clean race on Sunday and be there at the end in our No. 78 5-hour ENERGY/Bass Pro Shops Toyota.”
Chicagoland Fantasy Racing Preview
His Sonoma win also gave Truex Jr. 10 top-five finishes in the first 16 races of the season. He is fifth in overall driver points and third in the playoff standings. At this point of the season, he doesn’t see an Achilles Heel for his race team.
“We had great runs in Pocono and Sonoma,” Truex said. “But overall we have a much better handle on our race car and feel that we can contend on any type of track.”
