Analysis
NASCAR Cup Phoenix II
Why the odds may be in Truex's favor in title fight
Martin Truex Jr. may have been the last driver to get in the Championship 4 but his chances at a second NASCAR Cup Series title seem as good as any of his fellow challengers.
Jim Utter
Edited: Nov 5, 2021, 4:45 PM
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Truex has won four races this season – second-most among the title contenders – and won the spring race at Phoenix Raceway, site of Sunday’s title race.
Yet Truex seems to have flown under the radar, seemingly in large part because three of his victories came early in the season.
While he had to fight and claw for the fourth-place finish at Martinsville, Va., last weekend that allowed him to advance to the title race, Truex’s championship hopes appear to have improved dramatically.
“Phoenix has been a good track for us; 750 (horsepower) tracks have been kind of what we’ve been our best at this year, not only JGR but the No. 19 team especially,” Truex, 41, said. “All four of our wins have come with this package and these rules.
“I enjoy the 750 stuff, so I’m fired up and excited about this weekend. I think we can get it done.”
Goodyear tire advantage for MTJ?
Truex may also have another factor on his side.
Not only did he win earlier this year at Phoenix, but in the four races this season that have featured the same Goodyear tire selection that will be used in this Sunday’s race (spring Phoenix, New Hampshire and both Richmond races), Truex won two of them.
He is the only one of four Championship 4 drivers to win a race this season on that tire selection.
Strangely enough, as good as Larson has been all year, he fared the worst among the four title contenders on the tire being used this weekend. In the four previous races, Larson had an average finish of 9.5 and led a grand total of nine laps.
Truex plans to use every advantage he can on Sunday and having won the spring Phoenix race with what he called the best car he ever had at this track, just raises his confidence.
“We need to make sure we hit it right. And obviously that (win) was a while ago. Things have changed, rules, tech procedures, etc.” he said.
“Things will be a little bit different. Certainly, the weather is going to be different. It’s going to be hotter out here than it was then. No PJ-1 (traction compound), just spraying resin. The track is going to be different.
“You’ve got to go out there and practice and do what you always do. That is use your best guess intuition and your feel and your gut, engineering and all those things that go into it and put it all together.
“Hopefully, you mash it all together and come out with a winning car on Sunday.”
Read Also:
- Hamlin "just loves the feeling of proving people wrong"
- Chase Elliott's path to repeat Cup title 'very much the same'
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