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NASCAR CUP SERIES: GOBOWLING 235August 16, 2020Martin Truex, Jr.Daytona Beach, Florida THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by today's third‑place finisher in the Go Bowling 235, Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No.19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. Take us through what it was like out there racing the road course today. MARTIN TRUEX JR.: It was a lot of fun, honestly, being the first time at a track you don't really know what it's going to be like, so I really enjoyed today. I thought the track was more fun than I anticipated just from running the simulator and things like that. Really had a lot of fun, and obviously had a really fast Bass Pro Toyota and kind of messed up there speeding on pit road and had to recover, so to be able to come from the back in about 20 or so laps there was pretty tough, and obviously proud of being able to do that. Wish we could have had a little bit more time. I think we could have given them a run for their money, but overall it was a decent day. Seems like third place is just where we're at right now. Q. Martin, after doing this course once, is this course good enough for a full points race if NASCAR wanted to in the future? MARTIN TRUEX JR.: Absolutely, yeah. I mean, today was a full points race, so I mean, I thought we've seen a good race, and obviously not a ton of cautions, not a ton of crashes and guys doing crazy stuff. I thought the race went really well. The racing was good. You could make passes if you were faster than a guy, and that's always as a competitor what you're looking for, and I think that's what puts on a good show, so I'd be totally fine with it. Q. Talk about the heat today; it looked pretty rough on a lot of guys, and the break seemed like it was a help to a number of drivers to rehydrate, gather it back in. How was the heat for you on the day? MARTIN TRUEX JR.: Oh, it was hot, no doubt. It was crazy hot. I think probably without that break for lightning, a lot of guys wouldn't have made it. It's so hot in these things. I don't know why we're running a right‑side window at a road course. There's just no airflow, none at all. I think if you talked to people that are at the track and they're complaining about how hot it is outside the car and just to put it in perspective, when we get out of the car, that feels like air‑conditioning. I mean, I can't tell you how hot it was in there today. Luckily feeling good after the race obviously, and was able to hold my own, but I just think there's something we could do to make these things a little bit cooler. Q. You touched on a moment ago you kind of stuck there in third place, but you guys have had really consistent finishes, so how do you feel about having so many third places? That's good in one sense, but they're not wins, either. MARTIN TRUEX JR.: Yeah, I mean, I'm pleased with how we're running. I think that's the most important part. There's a little bit here and there that we obviously could do better. You know, today I felt like we definitely could have challenged for the win. I wish we could have seen if we could have ran straight up with the 9, but we were obviously really fast at the end to come from dead last on a restart with whatever it was to go, 25 laps or less. Had a lot of speed, and that's what you need. You need to be doing that, and we're running up front every week, and that's what's important. We just need to get some more points before the playoffs hopefully, and that will be a big deal for us. Q. Can you tell me about what the conversation was with Harvick and Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin on the grid prior to the race and how you guys laid out your strategy? MARTIN TRUEX JR.: We just wanted to figure out how we were all going to approach Turn 1 so we didn't crash each other and look like idiots, so really it was just about what kind of marker were you going to use for braking so we didn't run each other over, and obviously it went fine from there. Q. It was full disclosure, you guys were open with each other, not playing any games or secrets or anything? MARTIN TRUEX JR.: Yeah, I don't think we did. I mean, I think we all understand, we've been doing this long enough, that you can't win it in the first corner but you sure can lose it. It was really just about trying to get a gauge on how comfortable each other was, what kind of brake markers we thought would work, so we were all kind of on the same page so we didn't crash in the first corner and look like idiots. THE MODERATOR: Martin, appreciate the time. Thanks for this, and congrats on the finish. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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