● Seven to Go: Truex failed to make it to the Round of 12 of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Truex sits 14th in the reset driver standings with 2,064 points after last Saturday night’s Round of 16 finale at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
● Honor a Cancer Hero: Truex has not one but two cancer heroes riding along with him on his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Camry this weekend in the Hollywood Casino 400. It’s part of the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation’s and the NASCAR Foundation’s annual Honor a Cancer Hero program event. Via a decal over the driver-side door will be the name of Michele Broadley. Broadley fought a three-and-a-half-year battle with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS). During her fight, she continued college and graduated from the University of Connecticut with a bachelors degree in Psychology with a minor in Women’s Studies. She held a 3.74 grade-point average earned Magna Cum Laude honors. She even started Graduate School for her Master’s Degree in Social Work at Southern Connecticut State University. Broadley passed away on Sept. 28, 2016. Truex is honored to have her name ride along with him this weekend.
● Honor a Cancer Hero, Part 2: Truex also has the honor of having cancer survivor Claire Kochenower ride along above the passenger-side window of his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Camry XSE this weekend. Kochenower is a seven-and-a-half-year medulloblastoma survivor. Kochenower continues to have yearly checkups with her long-term survivor doctor as they monitor her for complications from her treatment. Truex is her favorite driver, and she is excited to have her name on his car this year during his final fulltime season.
● Truex has two wins, 11 top-five finishes, 18 top-10s and has led a total of 906 laps in 32 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas. Truex’s average Kansas finish is 12.6. Truex finished fourth at Kansas in May and had a chance to win prior to a late caution flag.
● Strong in the Heartland: Truex’s two Kansas wins came by way of a season sweep of the spring and fall races there in 2017. The feat kicked off a 13-race stretch on the 1.5-mile oval during which he earned six top-fives and finished inside the top-10 all but once.
● While he doesn’t like to play favorites, Truex certainly excels at tracks with worn-out surfaces, where driver skill is key to managing the tires and the racecar over the course of a long race. At four such tracks – Kansas Speedway, the now defunct 2-mile oval at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Darlington (S.C.) Raceway – Truex has six wins, 25 top-five finishes and 47 top-10s, and has led 2,209 laps.
● Looking for 35: Truex’s July 2023 win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon 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.
Martin Truex Jr., Driver of the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE
You have had success at Kansas Speedway over the years, but a year ago you had a fast car but had a cut tire at the start of the race. Can you talk a little bit about what it takes to have a solid day there?
“Yeah, for sure. I felt really good about our car there last year, but it didn’t last very long with the tire issue last fall, and we had a really good run going there in the spring and the caution came out at the end and we ended up fourth instead of a chance at the win. Kansas is a really fun racetrack. It’s a place where you can move around. The tires wear out and it gets slippery. It’s just a fun place to race and we’re looking forward to it with our Bass Pro Shops Camry. A
thing to get around there. You have to have horsepower and downforce, a good setup with a lot of tire grip and things like that. It’s a big challenge and usually the guys that have the fastest cars are up front there, so hopefully we’ll be one of those guys.”
You are trying to get a win this year before you are done racing fulltime. Is Kansas a place where you feel like you could get it done?
“I feel like Kansas is one of those places that has always suited my style. It’s a place you can move around, it gets really slick and there’s a lot of tire falloff. I really enjoy that. As good as our cars have been lately, I feel good about our chances that we’ll go there and have race-winning speed. And then it’s all about execution, which we are working on right now. If we can have a straightforward strategy race and good pit stops, I think we are going to be in the mix at Kansas, for sure.”
What is racing at Kansas like, and what other track is most similar?
“I would say Kansas is a lot like Homestead but with a tri-oval. Similar corners and a little bit of progressive banking. The wall has really come into play the last couple of years there since the asphalt has worn out. So, running high is very important there, and also momentum is very important at Kansas. You have a big, wide, front straightaway that gives you the option to make big, bold moves on the restarts where it can get pretty wild there. Kansas is definitely high on my list of places I like to race, and we are hoping for a great weekend there with our Bass Pro Shops Camry.”
Did you ever think you’d accomplished all you have?
“I always dreamed I could. Always thought I could. But you know, in this sport and in life in general, that’s all just talk. So, it’s been fun to get it done a few times.”
● Event: Hollywood Casino 400 (Round 30 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 29
● Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City
● Layout: 1.5-mile oval
● Format: 267 laps, 400 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 80 laps / Stage 2: 85 laps / Final Stage: 102 laps
● TV/Radio: USA Network / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
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