Pit Stop Radio News

• TRUEX AT DAYTONA: Martin Truex Jr. owns three top-five finishes and five top-10s in 31 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Daytona International Speedway. In the series’ most recent race on the 2.5-mile superspeedway, Truex led 14 laps and ended up fourth. Truex is also a former DAYTONA 500 pole winner after recording the fastest lap in qualifying back in 2009.
• CLASH NOTES: Truex has one top-five finish, two top-10s and 44 laps led in nine career starts in the Busch Clash. Those nine starts have all come on the 2.5-mile superspeedway layout, so Tuesday’s exhibition race on the Daytona Road Course provides a clean slate for the Mayetta, New Jersey native. Truex is a four-time road course winner in the Cup Series and finished third in last summer’s race on the 3.61-mile road course layout after leading 10 laps.
• 2020 SEASON RECAP: Last season, Truex and the No. 19 team ended the year seventh in the championship standings. The former series champion won one race (Martinsville) and recorded 14 top-five finishes, 23 top-10s and 950 laps led to qualify for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. At one point during the summer, Truex finished third or better in seven consecutive races – a streak that hadn’t been matched in more than 20 years.
• OFFSEASON CHANGES: Drew Herring joins the No. 19 team this season in the spotter role. Herring is no stranger to JGR as he has spent the past handful of years working with team and Toyota Racing Development’s simulator and wheel force transducer test programs – a role he will continue in this year as well. He also made 12 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts for the organization from 2011 to 2016.
• BASS PRO SHOPS: A longtime supporter of Truex and NASCAR, Bass Pro Shops will be featured as the primary sponsor of the No. 19 Camry in 24 races this season, including the DAYTONA 500. Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Founded in 1972 when avid young angler Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri. Today the company provides customers with unmatched offerings spanning premier destination retail, outdoor equipment manufacturing, world-class resort destinations and more.
• DEWALT: The No. 19 Camry will feature the DEWALT colors for Tuesday night’s Busch Clash on the Daytona Road Course.  As a part of Stanley Black & Decker, DEWALT continues to design and optimize professional workhorse solutions – tools, accessories, and service – to ensure absolute confidence for the toughest jobsite conditions. To learn more about DEWALT, visit DEWALT.com.
• JGR AT DAYTONA: Joe Gibbs Racing owns eight NASCAR Cup Series victories at Daytona International Speedway, including the past two DAYTONA 500s. In 147 combined starts, the organization has tallied 35 top-five finishes, 47 top-10s and 1,836 laps led. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Dale Jarrett, Erik Jones, and Tony Stewart have all wheeled JGR entries to victory lane at the World Center of Racing.
• TUNE IN: Speedweeks in Daytona kicks off Tuesday night with the Busch Clash at 7 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. On Wednesday night, teams will post their qualifying times at 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 to set the front row for the DAYTONA 500. On Thursday evening, the Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying races will set the remainder of the starting lineup at 7 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Coverage of the 63rd running of the DAYTONA 500 begins Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX. All events will also be broadcast live on MRN Radio and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Martin Truex Jr., Driver of the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry

This is the one race that you haven’t won yet. What would it mean to cross it off?

“It would be huge. We’ve been trying for a long time. It’s a tough race to win. We’ve been really close. I think for us, trying to be better at speedway racing is something that we’ve worked on over the last handful of years. I feel like we have made some gains there for sure, but we’re still not getting the results that we want. We’re still working hard on it, and I think for us, the biggest thing is trying to figure out a way to get to the end of the race. I feel like every time we make it to the end of one of these speedway races, we’re in the hunt and we have a chance, but we’re still working on how to be better with technique and moves, understanding the draft and how it works with the car because it changes each year.”

James Small, Crew Chief of the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry

What is your mindset going into your second season as crew chief?

“Having a year under my belt now, I’m far more comfortable, especially with the way we go racing now without practice most weekends. You have to be ready to go, ready to adjust and hit it perfect off the hauler. We’ve shown ourselves pretty strong there. From the summer through the end of last year, we were definitely one of the more consistent teams, but the wins were lacking and that’s all that matters in this business. I’m excited about this year. I think the whole team is ready to go. We have worked on the areas that we felt that we needed to improve on to make sure we do get everything that we can out of a weekend and I’m confident that we’re going to be right there in the hunt every weekend.”

Truex NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Daytona International Speedway

Truex 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats

Truex NASCAR Cup Series Career Stats

JGR PR