HAMPTON, Ga.: It took 10 races, but Martin Truex Jr. earned his first top-five finish of the season during Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway.
Despite starting 11th based on a draw, it did not take long for Truex’s No. 19 Auto Owners Insurance Toyota Camry to showcase its speed.
Following the competition caution, Truex had already found himself inside the top-five at Lap 35 saying his car was “pretty good.”
Five laps later he jumped two spots and found himself second chasing Kevin Harvick for the race lead.
Briefly taking the lead when Harvick pitted under green flag conditions, Truex found himself reeling in Harvick for the race lead as the laps dwindled at the end of Stage 1. With 19 to go, Truex cleared Harvick for the top spot and set sail to win the stage.
Stage 2 was much like the first with Truex dominating the stage and putting another Playoff point to his season tally.
During Stage 3, Truex continued to keep his race car at the front but as the race settled into a long green flag run, the handling of the car changed, especially as the track surface began to cool.
With Harvick taking control of the race early into Stage 3, Truex had hoped his final planned pit stop of the day would be the adjustment he needed to capture his first Cup win of 2020.
And while his Joe Gibbs Racing pulled off a blazing pit stop, the handling despite attempts to combat it continued to deteriorate causing Kyle Busch to catch and pass Truex in the waning laps and forcing Truex to settle for third.
The effort was a season-high for the No. 19 team and the best finish thus far for new crew chief James Small who replaced Cole Pearn who retired during the offseason.
“Hell of a job by everybody and a good, solid day,” said Truex. “The last two or three runs there, we just got too tight. Not sure what happened. The car was really good. The guys did a great job. Auto Owners Camry was fast all day.
“Got our first two stage wins of the year, which was huge. We just can’t seem to get over the hump at the finishes.”
Before Sunday’s race, Truex owned a pair of sixth-place finishes at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in May and most recently at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway during the crown jewel Coca-Cola 600.
After the race, Truex noted the handling of his car changed and likely was the determining factor from keeping himself from his 27th career NASCAR Cup Series win.
“We definitely lost something,” said Truex after the race. “We were really strong the first two stages, and I was really happy with the car, and we just got too tight there the start of stage 3 and made some adjustments on the pit stop.
“It just wasn’t enough. I don’t know if the track changed or something changed in our car or what, but we’ll go back and figure it out, but way too tight the last two runs to be able to challenge, and ultimately it cost us third I guess the last 25, 30 laps of the race.”
Plagued by a tight-handling race car, Truex said he wore out his tires trying to stay in the thick of the battle.
“I just tried to drive through the push and ended up just pretty much smoking the front tires off it, and I ended up losing second, so that was unfortunate,” added Truex.
“With about 25 (laps) to go, I was clicking off some good lap times, but I knew I was pushing it too hard on the right front tire and with about 10 to go, it said, ‘oh hell no more.’ Just ran out of tires at the end and lost second to Kyle (Busch). I figured at that point, I could see the 4 (Kevin Harvick) and was just going to give it all I had and see if there was any opportunity, but he was just too good.”
Even with the defeat, Truex praised Small and his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team for the job they are doing under unique circumstances which includes a reduced crew and no practice and no qualifying for all but one race since returning from the pandemic hiatus.
“I wish we could have won,” Truex said. “I felt like through the first two stages we had a dominant car, and then the track changed, and we didn’t keep up with it. That’s just part of this racing, so we need to do a better job of that.
“But James’ first year as crew chief, I feel like he’s doing a great job, and I feel like the whole team is really doing a nice job, especially as things have changed with the smaller amount of guys at the track and no practice and all those things. The guys are doing a great job, so we’ll keep working hard on it.”
With a quick turnaround to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Wednesday, Truex is confident about his team’s chance, especially since he is the most recent winner at the 0.526-mile paperclip.
“It’s definitely encouraging,” sounded Truex. “As I mentioned earlier, we’ve had a really strong season as far as being competitive and getting tons of stage points, and we’ve been kind of lacking on our finishes a little bit. So, it felt good to get that top five out of the way.
“Martinsville has been a good track to us the past few seasons and being the defending winner, their last time feels great, but it doesn’t guarantee anything.
“Different rules package, lower downforce this time around, and we’ll have to hopefully go there and have something that will work good off the trailer because again, no practice. We’ll see how it goes, but excited about it and looking forward to a night race at Martinsville.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
