Martin Truex Jr. is in the midst of his best season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Currently, he is preparing for Sunday’s 5 Hour Energy 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The 1.058-mile track in Loudon, NH, Truex Jr. calls “sacred ground”.
The NHMS, site of Sunday’s race, was one of the tracks that Truex Jr. built his career on in the K&N Pro Series East. Also, it was where he watched his father, Truex Sr., race.
In fact, the racetrack in Loudon was the only place where his father won and where his brother Ryan Truex won twice.
Talking to the Boston Globe, Truex Jr. said, “Certainly, my Dad was [a hero], but New Hampshire was always their biggest race of the year. That was their (K&N East) Daytona, so I always kind of held New Hampshire as sacred ground just because of that. Winning races there has had a lot to do with me getting an opportunity to move down here and drive the Busch Series and it’s just been a special place for us.’’
Truex Jr. would go on to follow his father into the K&N Pro Series East circuit, where, in 62 races from 2000 to 2003, Truex Jr. won 13 poles and five races, including twice at NHMS.
Now racing in the big leagues, Truex Jr. in his 10th full-time season in the Sprint Cup Series and is poised to prove he is a contender for this season’s Sprint Cup Championship.
In his second season driving for the Furniture Row Racing team, he has put together a string of spectacular performances. In the first 15 races of the season, Truex Jr. earned 14 top-10 finishes including one victory coming at Pocono.
The last three weeks have been more of an uneasy ride for the 35-year-old NASCAR Sprint Cup driver from Mayetta, N.J. with two DNF’s and most recently finishing 17th at the Quaker State 400.
Even with three consecutive finishes outside the top-10, Truex Jr. remains fifth in driver points.
Here is a complete list of the top-16 drivers as heading into Sunday’s race at NHMS:
#NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Point Standings after @KySpeedway.
Next: #5hrENERGY301 this Sunday on @NBCSN pic.twitter.com/IErGNsiaEE
— Phoenix Raceway (@phoenixraceway) July 14, 2015
With a special connection to this weekend’s race, Truex Jr. will be hoping to add another victory for the Furniture Row Racing Team and climb his way back into the top three in the Sprint Cup standings.
Sammy Mugharbil, a Mile High Sports intern and MSU-Denver student contributed to this report