All that matters for Martin Truex Jr. this week is winning.
The NASCAR driver from Stafford Township is locked into a spot in the 12-driver Chase, for which points will be reset after this week based on wins.
So a second-place finish at Richmond means nothing.
Or a fourth-place finish, like the one Truex had last week at Atlanta. He had a comfortable lead of about three seconds with five laps remaining, but a caution allowed Denny Hamlin to take the lead on the restart and win, with Truex dropping to fourth.
“I was upset after the race, but as soon as I got on the plane, I started thinking about things we could learn from it and then my focus changed to Richmond,” Truex said in quotes provided this week by his team, Michael Waltrip Racing. “We had a great run in Atlanta and should have won. I would love to have done it on the weekend we announced extensions with (sponsor) NAPA and MWR.
“But it’s kind of cool to be disappointed with fourth place. That’s how far we’ve come. We’ll try it again at Richmond. We’ll get one here soon.”
