Martin Truex Infineon Report

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry - finished 42nd - now 19th in points.

 

Martin Truex Jr. Race Summary: Martin Truex Jr. showed everyone during today’s running of the Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Infineon Raceway that he is a very good road racer. The No. 56 NAPA Toyota raced in the top-five during the first 60 laps moving as high as second place. But on lap 61, dreams of a top-five finish disappeared when Jeff Gordon spun the No. 56 in Turn 11. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver planned to rally back from the 26th position but a multi-car crash coming to the green ended his day. He was relegated to a 42nd-place finish. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to New Hampshire International Speedway this weekend.

 

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota

•  Truex Jr. started 10th and finished 42nd
• The No. 56 NAPA Toyota raced in the top-five the majority of its time on the racetrack.
• Jeff Gordon spun Truex on lap 61 dropping him to 22nd position.
• Gordon admitted after the race the accident was his fault.
• The spin forced Truex to pit road for fresh tires and fuel on lap 64.
• On lap 66 and in 26th place, the NAPA Toyota sustains significant damage while taking the green flag. Multiple cars involved forcing NASCAR to throw the red flag.
• The NAPA Toyota did not return to the track.

TRUEX QUOTE: “It just comes down to every week we have these double-file restarts and everybody’s head just gets ridiculous. It just doesn’t make any sense. Everything is fine until we have restarts and then it’s like the guys running a tantrum to win the race. It’s uncalled for. The unfortunate part is all the guys from my team worked so hard and we had an awesome NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota and were running top-five all day long. I just hate it for them. We were looking to have a really good day here and a lot of fun.

 

“We simply got caught up in that wreck and was just the victim of circumstance. We got spun out and that’s what got us in the back and put us in an unfortunate situation. We should have never been in that position. We’ve been running upfront all day long with a great car. Everybody on the NAPA Toyota did an awesome job. We had a shot at running top-three or four and maybe we had a shot at winning if the thing played right.” I guess Jeff (Gordon) figured he couldn’t catch us on the track, he was going to spin us out on the restart.”

RACE NOTES:

•  Jimmie Johnson won for the first time in his career on a road course circuit.
• The win is Johnson’s fourth of the season and 51st of his career moving him to 10th all time.
• Robby Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-five.
• Marcos Ambrose led 35 laps and finished sixth, his fourth consecutive top-10 on a road course.
• Ambrose was leading with six laps remaining when flipped his engine on and off as he circled the track. His car stalled as six cars weaved around his unmoving Toyota. Although Ambrose got his car restarted and moved back to the front of the field, NASCAR ordered him back to seventh for "failing to maintain reasonable speed" right before the restart.
• The race lasted two hours fifty-six minutes in front of an estimated crowd of 90,000
• The race featured 12 lead changes among eight drivers
• The race was slowed by seven cautions for a total of 14 laps
• The next race is June 27, 2010 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H.