● Where We Stand: Truex sits sixth in the Cup Series driver standings with 640 points, 63 behind new leader Chase Elliott. All four JGR entries are currently inside the top-11 in the standings with Denny Hamlin fourth, Christopher Bell eighth and Ty Gibbs 11th as the series heads back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval this weekend before the two-week Olympic break commences.
● As the Cup Series returns to the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time since 2020, Truex has one top-five finish and three top-10s and has led a total of 11 laps in 16 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at its 2.5-mile oval. Truex’s average Indy oval finish is 22.4.
● Truex had mixed results when the Cup Series raced on the Indianapolis road-course circuit the past three seasons. He earned a best road-course finish of seventh, which came last season. Back on the oval this weekend, Truex is looking to add himself to the list of Cup Series champions who have won 22 of the 27 previous Brickyard 400s.
● Looking for 35: Truex’s win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon in July 2023 was his most recent Cup Series win, the 34th of his career, tying him with 2004 champion Kurt Busch for 25th on the all-time Cup Series win list.
● Ahead at this Stage: Truex has accumulated 63 stage wins since the beginning of the stage era in 2017. He is the only driver with 10 or more stage sweeps, with his latest sweep coming at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn last August. Truex scored his third stage win of the season last weekend at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, leading the field across the line at the end of Stage 1.
Martin Truex Jr., Driver of the No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry XSE
You have run well on the Indianapolis oval over the years, but the results haven’t quite panned out how you’ve wanted them to. Is there any reason for that?
“It’s for a number of different reasons, honestly. I think there was a window in time where we actually ran really well at Indianapolis, but we always had issues. We got wrecked on pit road a few times, we had a brake rotor explode one year when we were really fast. The fastest car we had there was 2017 when Kyle Busch and I were racing for the lead on a restart and we definitely had a car we could have won with that day. We’ve definitely been close a few times, but for whatever reason, we haven’t been able to put a whole race together there. We’ve shown speed as a team and as a company there, so I think we should have a great chance to run up front this weekend with our Auto-Owners Insurance Camry. Just like Pocono, you want to be able to qualify toward the front, keep your track position and put yourself in a spot where you can race for the win. That’s the plan for this weekend.”
What will the Olympic break be like for you?
“Yeah, it’s going to be interesting. Not very often we get two weeks off. It’s definitely great for the crew guys. They work so hard, so many hours, they just don’t stop. So it’s a grind and it’ll be good for them to spend a little time with their families. As a team, you kind of regroup, recharge with the playoffs coming up, the end of the season and all that goes into that with the pressure. It’ll be a nice break for everyone. I’d say I get more of a break than those guys, so it’s nice to see they get it, as well. It should be fun.”
Anything to pinpoint for not getting some finishes you’ve deserved over the last several weeks?
“It’s been multiple things, frustrating for sure. You name it across the board, it’s happened. The last three races before Pocono, we’ve been crashed at the end by someone, and that’s frustrating. Dealt with a lot of things like rain and crazy things like that. Hopefully this is another normal, straightforward weekend. We did that to a point at Pocono last weekend, but we just didn’t have the speed late in the race to challenge for the win like we had hoped.”
Do you anticipate feeling any different as your last fulltime season winds down?
“I’m not going to approach it any differently. I don’t expect my team to, either, and they haven’t this year at all. I think it’s business as usual as far as when we’re at the track. I guess it feels a bit different knowing that I’ll be going to tracks for the last time in a Cup car now. Some of the tracks have done some cool stuff, like Pocono putting my name on the start-finish line. I’m going to try to enjoy it and we really would like to get a win here soon. We will give it our best this weekend with the Moody Blue Auto-Owners Insurance Camry at Indy.”
● Event: Brickyard 400 (Round 22 of 36)
● Time/Date: 2:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 21
● Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
● Layout: 2.5-mile rectangular oval
● Laps/Miles: 160 laps / 400 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 50 laps / Stage 2: 50 laps / Final Stage: 60 laps
● TV/Radio: NBC / IMS Radio Network / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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