tool name
closeLast set of tires lets Truex down, but he's third and still thirsty
JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer
Sunday, Jul. 01, 2007
LOUDON, N.H. – What a difference a month can make.
Martin Truex Jr. had easily one of the best cars in the field in Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire Speedway and finished third, yet he was visibly disappointed speaking with media on pit road after the race.
Reminded that he'd still had a good finish, Truex said, “Six months ago I would have killed somebody for this third-place run. Lately, we know what we’re capable of and we need to get them when we can.”
Now in his second full season in the Nextel Cup Series, Truex and his No. 1 Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt Inc. team struggled early in the season. Through the first 12 races, his best finish was seventh at Texas.
Then came a breakout win in early June at Dover, Del. – his first in the series. Including that win, Truex has finished third or higher in four of the past five races.
“The confidence with myself and my guys and the way we work now, we work with a feeling that we can win every week,” said Truex’s crew chief, Kevin Manion.
“We work hard over the weekend. He will ask, ‘Can we win?’ With confidence now I can tell him, ‘Yes, we can win.’ ”
Truex appeared ready for a return visit to Victory Lane on Sunday, leading 46 of the 300 laps. He restarted second following a caution on Lap 259 behind Denny Hamlin, who took two tires on his final pit stop, while Truex and most of the lead-lap cars took four.
As strong as Truex’s car was, 41 laps seemed plenty of time to run down Hamlin for the win. But Truex’s car didn’t perform quite as well as previously and Jeff Gordon put up a spirited battle in the closing laps to pass Truex for second.
“That last set of tires, for some reason, just didn’t cooperate with me. Man, before that my car was really, really good,” said Truex, who improved one position to 10th in points.
“I put that set on at the end and it wouldn’t turn and it was real loose off the corner.
“Denny kind of snookered us with those two tires. He was fast at the end, though. You can’t take anything away from him.”
Truex’s DEI teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., finished right behind him in fourth and gave Truex a little bump from behind when both stopped on pit road after the race.
“Martin had good track position and I thought he could get (Hamlin) but (Hamlin) ran better than anyone expected him to on two tires,” said Earnhardt Jr., who solidified his 12th-place position in points, the cutoff to make the Chase for the Nextel Cup.
“I just didn’t ask for enough changes as the weather cooled off. My car was really good to start the race. I didn’t ask for enough adjustments.”
