Martin Truex Jr. Coke 600 Preview

CORNELIUS, N.C. — So far Charlotte Speedweeks has been very good for NAPA Racing’s

Martin Truex Jr. He’s coming off a Sprint Showdown victory and a runner-up finish in the All-Star Race.This weekend all eyes will continue to be on the Michael Waltrip Racing driver. He’s good with the attention especially since his NAPA ride will sport a special look for the Coca-Cola 600. The well-known NAPA shield will be joined by NAPA Batteries. The high-energy paint scheme kicks off a great promotion for consumers. In June, visit a NAPA Auto Parts Store or a NAPA AutoCare Center, and get the following mail-in rebates— $20 rebate on the NAPA Optima Heavy-Duty batteries, $15 rebate on NAPA Legend 84-month battery and $10 rebate on all NAPA LEGEND 75-month batteries.

QUOTES

Truex Jr. on momentum heading into Coca-Cola 600: “We felt good coming into last week’s events a Charlotte because of the test we had and what we learned. The last few weeks we seemed to be getting better and better. We thought we were going to be real good coming here, so it wasn't unexpected. It wasn't like we just came out of the blue and won the Showdown. We've been competitive. But momentum is a big thing in this sport. You see it all the time. It worked for us a couple years ago. It seemed to just give us that confidence in each other and know that we can get it done. Hopefully it will do the same thing. But time will tell. I am looking forward to the 600 this week. I think we'll have a good car. The NAPA guys will obviously work on it and work on the issues we had during the All-Star Race. We’ll get it better. We'll come back and try to do what we can do. It should be fun.”

Truex on the challenges of the event: “The Coca-Cola 600 is different in that it is so long. It starts in the daytime and ends at night. Charlotte is one of the most notorious tracks for changing with the weather conditions and even throughout the day. There are so many changes. You almost get to the end and forget about the beginning of the race. It feels like it’s just a night race because it is so long. You just go out there and try and stay on the race track. Just keeping up with its changes are what makes it one of the most difficult tracks on the circuit.”

Truex on the Charlotte track: “I got my best finish at Charlotte last weekend. It’s not been one of my better tracks. The last couple of years we have had some really good runs. I feel with Pat Tryson and the guys on the NAPA team, they have been giving me great cars – but really, Charlotte is just different. It is very fast and I enjoy the challenge. Turns 3 and 4 and Turns 1 and 2 are completely different. That’s what I think is the biggest challenge with it besides the fact that it changes more than anywhere we go.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• The driver of the No. 56 NAPA Batteries Toyota will be competing in his 165th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday at Charlotte .

• Truex has nine starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His best start is 12th (Oct. 17, 2009) and best finish is seventh (May 29, 2005). He’s earned two top-10 and seven top-25 finishes. His average start is 25th and average finish is 19th. He has run 3,041 of 3,166 laps of competition (96.1%) and has led a total of eight laps.

• Truex has scored the seventh most points of all drivers in the last five NASCAR Sprint Cup races. As driver of the No. 56 NAPA Toyota in 2010, he has earned one pole, one top-five, four top-10, and 10 top-20 finishes.

• MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Truex will be stopping by the media center at 5:10 p.m. on Thursday as part of NASCAR’s Top-12 driver press conferences.