CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Martin Truex Jr. hopes this is a record-breaking week on the track at Texas Motor Speedway and at Brahan Spring Park in Huntsville, Ala.
Truex would like to gain 18 points on leader Greg Biffle and take over the NASCAR Sprint Cup points lead in Saturday night’s 500-mile race on the ultra-fast Fort Worth track. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver is locked in a four-way tie for third in points. Since debuting a new chassis in November, the NAPA team has earned three top-five and six top-10 finishes in nine races.
On his way to Texas, the Mayetta, N.J. native will join remote control boat enthusiasts at the Huntsville (Ala.) Model Boat Association’s Spring Forward Record Trials on April 9-11. Truex, competing with the boats he built, already holds three titles sanctioned by the International Model Power Boat Association:
¨ One-third mile Nitro D-Class oval (69.938 mph/17.158 seconds)
¨ One-third mile Nitro B-Class oval (66.312 mph/18.096 seconds)
¨ One-quarter mile Nitro D-Class oval (60.492 mph/14.878 seconds)
MARTIN TRUEX JR. ON COMPETING IN HUNTSVILLE: “I have always been into R/C cars and trucks. I’ve built them since I was a little kid. When I moved the Lake Norman in 2007, I figured I needed to get a boat. I bought one and I really wasn’t very happy with it so I did some research and started to build my own.
“This week I am going for three new records. I currently own one of them, but I want to lower it because I know I can. I am also going to try and go after a straightline record which is a straightaway speed. The record I am trying to beat with a little 3.5cc engine is 103 mph. My goal is to go at least 105 mph.”
CREW CHIEF CHAD JOHNSTON ON TEXAS: “Since the last time we raced at Texas, we’ve made some updates to the chassis as well as to the parts and pieces that go to it. So far this season, we’ve raced at two intermediate tracks. We’ve made some aerodynamic and downforce gains since then and we have also found more ways to tune on this car. I’m looking forward to this race. I think we can improve upon our qualifying effort. Plus, with the consistency we’ve had at the end of last year and all of this season, there is no reason why we cannot finish in the top 10. If we don’t, I’ll be disappointed. This team turned a corner at the midway point of last year. We’re not a fluke. We’ve got the results to finally back up what we’ve been saying all along.”
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