Truex Jr. has high expectations heading to Martinsville

CORNELIUS, N.C. — In the first five races of 2012, No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Martin Truex Jr. has earned one top-five and three top-10 finishes and is fifth in the championship standings. It is his strongest start in seven full seasons competing on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit.

Truex is getting a little rest and relaxation before heading to this weekend’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. He is bowhunting turkey and fishing with fellow driver Ryan Newman and Realtree founder Bill Jordan in Alabama and Georgia. The excursion is a nice prelude to racing at the flat, half-mile Virginia track he considers to be the toughest on the circuit.

At flat tracks like Martinsville, it is a lot more difficult to get our race cars to handle well.

Martin Truex Jr.

MARTIN TRUEX JR. ON HIS TRIP: “It’s all about getting away and having a good time with some of my friends. We have a little work to do because Realtree is shooting video of us turkey hunting for an upcoming television show. But it is just nice to spend a few days away like this and not worry about things. It really helps me clear my head and recharge my batteries so I can be focused when I get back to the racetrack. It couldn’t fall at a better time because Martinsville is a hard track for me.”

ON MARTINSVILLE: “I have pretty high expectations for this weekend. Bristol has been a thorn in our side and it appears the NAPA team has finally conquered it with back-to-back top-five finishes. We’ve worked really hard on our NAPA Toyotas to try and understand how the track changes throughout the race weekend. I think with Martinsville, we are on the same track. I feel like we have been getting better there every year. We have had some good results. We had a pretty strong car back in the fall. We are taking some new stuff there and it has been working everywhere else we’ve raced so I expect to go to Martinsville and run up front again.”

ON MARTINSVILLE CHALLENGES: “At flat tracks like Martinsville, it is a lot more difficult to get our race cars to handle well. Our cars are big and heavy. They don’t like to go around the turns. If you take the banking away, it makes everything more difficult. For me, Martinsville has always been extremely tough. It’s hard on brakes and equipment. It’s tough to get a hold of these cars especially with the horsepower we pull on the Martinsville straightaways. It’s a tough little place and to win there would be an accomplishment.”