Martin Truex Jr.
No. 56 NAPA Toyota
Team: Michael Waltrip Racing
Crew Chief: Chad Johnston
2011 Stats
Wins: 0
Top-5s: 3
Top-10s: 12
Poles: 1
DNF: 3
Average Start: 16.8
Average Finish: 17.7
Races Led: 16
Laps Led: 153
% Laps Completed: 95.6%
Points Finish: 18th
2011 in a Nutshell
With four straight finishes inside the top-20 to open the year, it appeared Martin Truex Jr. was going to make a run at his second and Michael Waltrip Racing’s first Chase berth. But as the calendar flipped to spring, the wheels figuratively and literally fell off the NAPA Toyota at Martinsville and Texas with back-to-back DNFs due to accidents. From that moment forth, reliability was a hard thing to come by for the 56 team. One or two good weeks were followed by weeks on end where Truex struggled just to run mid-pack, eventually burying the team in points and ending any hope he had of making the Chase.
Reasons to Believe
Toyota’s improved engine department should equate to more horsepower for Truex and Michael Waltrip Racing as a whole … With a previous trip to the Chase under his belt (2007), there’s no question Truex has what it takes to put himself in the Chase for the Sprint Cup … The addition of competition director Scott Miller is a great hire for an organization that has often been mismanaged and has underachieved … For the first time since joining MWR, Truex will have a teammate in Clint Bowyer who is experienced and a proven winner who he can lean on for help and guidance, something he really hasn’t had before at MWR … He runs well at Dover, New Hampshire and Homestead, all tracks in the Chase – that’s of course assuming he can get in … Truex has improved in every major statistical category from his first year (2010) at MWR to his second … He closed out 2011 on a high note with four top-10s in the last five races.
Reasons to Doubt
Truex’s last – and to date only win – was almost five years ago … Michael Waltrip Racing has never had one of its drivers qualify for the Chase … Only twice has an MWR car been to Victory Lane … Being a free agent at the end of the year may be too much pressure for Truex to handle as angles for a new contract … It’s entirely possible the addition of Bowyer could overshadow the 56 team … Resiliency is an issue with Truex and his team. Too often one bad race leads to a string of bad ones … He led more than 17 laps in 2011 just once … Truex posted an ungodly nine finishes of 25th or worse last year.
Area of Strength: Dover
He may have more impressive numbers at other tracks, but numbers be dammed, it’s on the Monster Mile where Martin Truex Jr. is at his best. It’s the site of his only Cup win and if everything goes accordingly, he can be counted on to be a fixture in the top-10.
Area of Weakness: Mile-and-a-half racetracks
With the exception of Homestead where he excels, the 1.5-mile tracks haven’t been too good for Truex. At Kansas, Atlanta, Charlotte and Las Vegas combined, the former two-time Nationwide Series champ has a mere four top-10 finishes in 39 starts. When you factor in these tracks make up a good portion of the Cup schedule, it doesn’t bode well for Truex’s chances to get back to the winner’s circle anytime soon.
Best-case Scenario For 2012
Driving for a new contract, Truex does what he did in 2007 by winning a race and easily making the Chase – a first for MWR — and is justly rewarded by Michael Waltrip with a contract extension.
Worst-case Scenario For 2012
Like he has too often done in the past, Truex gets in a tailspin of poor finishes which derails any chance he has of making the Chase. This in turn triggers his departure at the end of the year from MWR.
In Their Words
“We really went through a lot of the races last year where things did go bad and tried to pick them apart and see, ‘How do we make sure these little things don’t happen again?’ I feel great — I’m happy. My team is incredible and we’re all back together — all the guys that we ended the year with last year, we’re all back together, which is a great thing.”
–Martin Truex Jr.
Predicted Number of Wins: 1
The Racing Geek’s Final Thought
Since his arrival in 2010 at Michael Waltrip Racing, there has been numerous times where it looked like Martin Truex Jr. had turned the corner and was ready to contend on a regular basis. However, not once has it developed into anything substantial over the course of a full season. So it’s hard to think this is going to be the year where everything comes together. At this point in his career, Truex has to show me before I become a believer.
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