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Martin Truex Jr. dominated the Crayon 301 race during NASCAR's visit to Loudon to earn his third victory of the season. His current form is a complete contrast to his previous season's form when he failed to qualify for the playoffs.
Truex Jr. entered the 2023 season following one of his worst seasons. From just managing two top-five results last season, the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing driver has made an epic comeback winning three races, making him a championship favorite.
James Small, crew chief for the #19 Toyota team explained the key factor that has revived the team, breaking free from the 54-race winless streak in Dover. Small emphasized the need for "smooth races" to be on the victory lane rather than just having the fastest car.
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"I think we have a better understanding of what we need. We have figured a lot of stuff out through a lot of parts of last year but it's also just having smooth races. Having a fast car is the number one thing, but that doesn’t always mean you’re going to win. You have to execute." he said to SiriusXM.
According to the #19 crew chief, it all came down to the execution of the trackside team that was hindering the driver to win races last season. At the start of the season, Martin Truex Jr. was affected by the strategy blunders but the team improved significantly over the season.
"We're just focused really hard on tryin' to make sure that the things that we can control, that we are doing them as best as we can to our ability. The pit crew, myself, the engineers, Martin it's [about] making sure you don't make mistakes. If you can do that we can have more success than not." James Small added.
On the other side of the garage, Christopher Bell had a dismal outing. His day on the track spiraled downwards once his pit crew left him hanging in the first stage.
Executing a clean race the #19 JGR driver continued Toyota's dominance at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and claimed his first win on the 1-mile oval.
Martin Truex Jr. opens up about lingering retirement rumors
Martin Truex Jr. is one of the oldest drivers on the NASCAR Cup Series grid and hasn't announced his plans after the end of the 2023 season. The 43-year-old veteran is still unclear what the future holds for him.
"I don’t know that running good and winning makes a difference. It’d be pretty awesome to win the championship and walk off into the sunset. But, I don’t, I just don’t really know. I really don’t know. I’m bad at making big decisions." he said to the media after the race.
"I wish I had more time to figure out what I want to do next year. But I don’t, so I’ll know soon, and you’ll know soon." he added.
Team owner Joe Gibbs is certainly keen on retaining Martin Truex Jr. after losing another veteran Kyle Busch last season. Truex Jr.'s father hinted that the driver is leaning towards remaining on the grid for 2024.
