Photo Credit: Mike Holtsclaw/OnPitRoad.com
Tire issues seem to be a major part of the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway this past weekend and unfortunately Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No.78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota, could not escape them.
The New Jersey native would qualify for the race in eighth and had an uneventful race until 76 laps to go when he reported he had a loose wheel while running third. With 73 laps to go, he would have to make an unscheduled pit stop to have tire issues taken care of. This would put Truex down a lap, but when caution came out with 40 laps to go, he was in the position to get the lucky dog which put him back on the lead lap.
Despite the issue, he was able to fight back and recover to a 14th place finish as the race ended.
“Considering what we had to deal with, salvaging a 14th-place finish was not all that bad,” he said. “We had another strong Toyota Camry today, but the finish obviously didn’t match the performance. We were contending and had a fast car. But that loose wheel near the end of the race spoiled an excellent opportunity.”
It’s well to note that this is his best finish since March of 2013 when he finished 12th.
“No question, we were the better than our finish,” said crew chief Pearn. “Martin did an awesome job all day, and overall it was a good performance weekend. We were also good in qualifying (8th) and during practice sessions.”
Up next is the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Speedway where he has one top-five and five top-10’s at the Virginia track. The race will be held on Sunday April 24th.
