Martin Truex Jr. Looks to Defend His Title at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. is ready for the June 23 USA TODAY 301 NASCAR Cup Series race at “The Magic Mile.”
LOUDON, N.H. – NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) driver Martin Truex Jr. earned his first Loudon the Lobster at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) in 2023, and he’s looking to capture another on June 23 at the USA TODAY 301. Truex, who finally landed in victory lane last year after his 30th start at “The Magic Mile,” spoke to media Wednesday in advance of New England’s only NASCAR weekend.
Shannon Stephens | New Hampshire Motor Speedway
“Martin, you finally, finally got that lobster. Talk about how that felt and how it feels coming back to New Hampshire Motor Speedway as the defending race winner.”
Martin Truex Jr.
“Yeah, it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to come back there as the defending winner, I guess since 2006. It feels great, honestly, that was a huge, huge win for me in my life and my personal goals of places I wanted to win at. It was always high on the list because of what it means to my racing career and how long I’ve been going up to New Hampshire. I think this is my 24th year of racing at least once a year there, so it’s pretty crazy to remember the times watching my dad growing up and things like that, so definitely a special win. Glad to get it checked off and now hopefully we can get a second one.”
Rob Tiongson | The Podium Finish
“Martin, I know you were zero of 29 going into that race on Monday morning at New Hampshire, and I know that was frustrating you. Given your local ties – you mentioned your dad racing there – when you were able to get that done, how gratifying was that among the many accomplishments you’ve had in your career?”
Martin Truex Jr.
“It was huge, honestly, I mean, it’s no question one of my biggest wins of my career just because of what it meant to me personally, my family, just that area. Again, I’ve been going there for so long, and won at K&N East Series back then, won my first North Series race there, won in the Busch Series, and it’s like, ‘Okay, now I’m gonna go win a Cup race,’ and gosh, it took forever, and it’s not like we weren’t good there. We led a bunch of laps, we won a ton of stages there, and it’s like something always happened. We just never could finish the deal off. Just to finally get it accomplished was huge for me. It was a big day, it was very gratifying. So proud of that, and to be able to finally bring home that lobster trophy means a ton.”
Rob Tiongson
“How much would it mean to you if you can get this win on a Sunday versus a Monday where we call you ‘Monday Martin Truex Jr.?’”
Martin Truex Jr.
“Yeah, I don’t really care what day of the week it is. A win’s a win, right? Mondays have definitely been good to us, no question. I think it would be good to win on Sunday too.”
Pat Jaggers | MRN
“When it comes to having not necessarily just speed at New Hampshire, but when you think about the evolution of the Cup car at New Hampshire, what is kind of the key to having success when you’re trying to navigate the track and actually find speed there?”
Martin Truex Jr.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s a difficult track. I guess it looks fairly straightforward, long straightaways and pretty big wide corners. The fact that it’s all pretty flat in general, but the progressive banking and then the seams between each lane are really what make it tough. Those seams over the years between each lane have gotten wider and wider and wider, and it’s just like, you hit a gap, and you lose grip, and depending how you hit those, man, it could really just screw your whole lap up. It’s always been a technical track. Over the years we’ve had PJ1 and resin spray to try to make the upper grooves come in and all that kind of thing. Last year, we saw the old pavement way up high in the corners came in toward the end of the race. It’s changed a lot over the years, and it’s very bumpy, very flat, the seams are a pain, the transitions of all the banking differences make your car drive really weird when you cross them, so it’s just a really, really tough track, and it’s really low grip as well, so at the same time you’re hitting all those things and having all those issues, you really don’t have any grip to start with, so it’s a very tough track to get a hold of.”
Pat Jaggers
“Do you think that’s a track that you can take one of the tires from North Wilkesboro and apply it and try to maybe have a different outcome or different expectation for that race?”
Martin Truex Jr.
“I mean, yeah, potentially. I think it just depends on how hot’s it gonna get and is it going to wear out too much. I think every track’s different the way it wears the tires, and the way it puts heat in the tires is always different. It’s just one of those things that you have to try to know. You can’t tell until you try it.”
Claire Lang
“Martin, do you feel that you race, not so much the track because the track has changed, but do you race differently, do you think, now at New Hampshire at this stage in your career than you did when you started? Are you that much different? You’re kind of a solid oak tree kind of guy. Has your racing changed that much?”
Martin Truex Jr.
“I would say no, I don’t think it has really that much. I think I kind of do things the way I always have. I think I’m better now than I ever was before, especially compared to years and years and years ago. The experience is something that is hard to replace, you either have it or you don’t. I lean on experience a lot and just being comfortable with the way I do things and the fact that it’s worked for a while. When you’re younger, you’re always searching, you’re always looking for things that work. ‘Am I doing this right? Am I doing that right? How do I make my way in this sport? How do I make a name for myself? What’s my style?’ I don’t worry about any of that stuff anymore. I just get in the car and drive it to the best of my ability, and I know my team knows that I can get the job done and they’ve got my back. I guess your approach over the years changes, where you don’t worry about things that don’t matter anymore, and it makes it easier to do the things that do matter good. Just being comfortable in that has been fun, and it’s been that way, I guess, for a while, but at the same time you’re always looking to be better and things are always changing, so you’re trying to adapt to that, but it’s easier to focus on that when you’re not worried about getting questioned or anything like that along the way.”
Kyle Dalton | Heavy.com
“What did you do with Loudon the Lobster last year when you won?
Martin Truex Jr.
“Well, I didn’t get it yet. I’ll get the replica trophy when we go there in two weeks, and I will definitely find a place for it in the house.”
Matthew Wiernasz
“I know short track racing is very big up at Loudon, so to watch a guy like Justin Bonsignore get an opportunity to race with the Xfinity Series coming up in a couple weeks, how huge is it for him to get this kind of opportunity?”
Martin Truex Jr.
“It’s a big deal. Obviously, for a modified guy to get a chance to run, I mean, we saw years ago what Ryan Preece did with that opportunity. It’s a good thing. Any time guys are coming out of the weekly series or touring series like that and getting chances, it’s awesome, because that’s what it was built for. If it wasn’t for the Busch North Series, I would have never been discovered. I would have never had the opportunity to move to North Carolina and race for a living. It’s great to see and hopefully that continues where the touring series get noticed and guys get the opportunity to move up.”
Davey Segal
“Realizing there are two races between now and New Hampshire, do you have any particular point in your mind or have you talked with James at all about when you start looking at points a little more if you haven’t won, or how do you guys approach that as the Playoffs loom in about 10 weeks or so?”
Martin Truex Jr.
“I don’t think we really look at points per say. We obviously race for points. A good weekend you’re going to bring home a bunch of points. We obviously hope we can win soon. We feel like we should have won already, but that’s just the way it goes. Sometimes you don’t win races you should, and I think we’ve shown that many times over the last couple years. We go out and just try to do the best we can every week. If you’re running in the top five or 10 all day, you’re gonna get a good amount of points. We’ve had good speed all year, we’ve led a bunch of laps, had a few slip away, but overall we’ve been really consistent and definitely really fast with the short track stuff. We felt good about Gateway last weekend until we got a flat tire, I thought we were in good shape to have a great day. Loudon’s definitely one that we won last year, and in 2022, the first year with the NextGen car, we were really strong there as well, so I feel good about it. I’m excited about Sonoma and then going to Iowa as well. A lot of good stuff coming up and we have a great team. We just need to execute.”
Joshua Lipowski | Daily Downforce
“You mentioned earlier how you’ve been really good particularly at short tracks this year, and probably the most similar track to New Hampshire on the schedule is Phoenix where you finished seventh earlier this year. How much from that track do you think you can take to New Hampshire coming up in a couple of weeks?”
Martin Truex Jr.
“Phoenix and Loudon have a few similarities. Especially turns one and two, I guess, compare closest to Loudon. There are just so many unique challenges with Loudon that you end up, I feel like, always having a little bit different setup. The bumps are probably one of the biggest things. The bumps are really challenging. And then the transitions and the banking, things like that, the way the car works a little different. I think generally if you’re fast at Phoenix, there’s a good chance you’ll be fast at Loudon, but it takes a lot different approach, I feel like, in terms of car setup.”
New England’s only NASCAR weekend is June 21-23 at NHMS. On-track action kicks off Friday with practice and qualifying sessions for the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) and Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) plus SIG SAUER Academy Dirt Duels at The Flat Track. The action continues with NCS qualifying, the SciAps 200 NXS race, and Mohegan Sun 100 NWMT race on Doubleheader Saturday and culminates with the NCS taking on “The Magic Mile” Sunday for the USA TODAY 301.
For a NASCAR weekend schedule, visit NHMS.com/Events/NASCAR-Cup-
Tickets:
Log on to NHMS.com for tickets and more information on the weekend’s lineup of action-packed racing. Tickets for SIG SAUER Academy Dirt Duels start at just $25 for adults and $10 for kids 12 and under. Tickets for Doubleheader Saturday, featuring the SciAps 200 NXS race and the Mohegan Sun 100 NWMT race, start at just $49 for adults while kids 12 and under are free. Sunday’s USA TODAY 301 NCS race tickets start at just $64 for adults and $10 for kids 12 and under. Further details can be found on the NHMS website or by calling 833-4LOUDON.
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Sources: Shannon Stephens/NHMS PR
Martin Truex Jr. celebrated in victory lane after winning the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Photo Credit: NHMS/Jill Torres