Main a race-high 228 laps, Truex appeared on his strategy to his first win of the 2024 season in March when a late warning despatched the race into extra time and the sphere down pit street for brand new tires.
Denny Hamlin beat Truex off pit street for the lead after which shortly acquired round Truex on the restart and held off Joey Logano for the victory. Truex questioned whether or not Hamlin jumped the beginning, however NASCAR dominated it good.
Truex, in his last full-time NASCAR season, stays and not using a win this 12 months however nonetheless effectively positioned to make the playoffs on factors with 4 races remaining within the common season.
“It’s been an ideal monitor and it’s a ton of enjoyable,” Truex stated of Richmond. “We had an ideal run going there within the spring and thought we had a shot at profitable, then we had been down a set of tires, and the cautions didn’t go our manner.
“I feel we’ve improved our program a ton and have been placing on a present at among the brief tracks and locations like Richmond. I hope for myself and my group we are able to get again in Victory Lane there like we’ve executed earlier than.
“We had such a dominant run there within the spring and the warning got here out and our race went haywire from there. Wish to get again out entrance and keep there on Sunday.”
Martin Truex Jr, Joe Gibbs Racing, Auto-House owners Insurance coverage Toyota Camry
Picture by: David Rosenblum / NKP / Motorsport Photos
Truex has three profession wins, 10 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes on the Virginia brief monitor. His 1,587 laps led at Richmond is probably the most he’s led at any energetic monitor on the Cup schedule.
All three of his wins have are available his final 11 races, whereas competing in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Toyota.
“From the primary time I raced there in 2003, I’ve at all times loved the monitor,” he stated. “There was an extended interval the place I didn’t have nice numbers there, however I felt like I cherished the monitor and at all times ran effectively there and had a whole lot of loopy issues occur there all through my profession.
“As soon as I acquired to Furnishings Row (Racing), we began main a ton of laps there. We additionally had a few heartbreaking finishes the place we should always have received the race however didn’t, and I questioned if it was ever going to occur.”
There shall be a brand new change that Truex and all Cup groups must cope with in Sunday evening’s race.
To assist enhance the standard of racing, NASCAR is permitting Goodyear to offer groups use of a softer, “possibility” tire within the 400-lap race.
Like they had been in a position to do on this 12 months’s NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway, groups could have three units of the “possibility” tire at their disposal, with one set for follow and two for the race.
Managing tire put on has been a key ingredient to success at Richmond of late and use of the choice tire – or moist climate tires if circumstances warrant – might vastly alter methods.
Managing the tire put on … and tire choices
“Richmond is a really distinctive monitor, very old style monitor,” Truex stated. “Tire put on, you need to handle your stuff and that actually performs into my strengths.
“It’s going to be totally different this time round with the tire mixture from what we had within the spring. Going to have to determine tips on how to recapture it and hopefully give you one thing that labored prefer it has previously.”
“You will must see a really particular set of circumstances to determine to place the gentle tire on. There’s nonetheless the potential that it might make some fascinating issues occur, it simply relies on how the race performs out.”
