Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway holds significance for Martin Truex Jr. in numerous ways.
The one-mile concrete oval was the site of Truex’s first NASCAR Cup Series victory in 2007 and where he broke a 54-race winless streak last season.
Dover is also considered a home track for Truex, who is from Mayetta, N.J., a little over two hours northeast of the track.
“I’ve been going there a long time and it’s a place that means a lot to me, starting early in my Busch Series career, and doing some racing there in my dad’s car, and my first Cup win there, as well,” Truex said.
“We’ve had a lot of success there, too. It’s a special place for me and I love going there, it feels like home. We have a lot of friends and family who go to that race, as well, and hoping we can get them a win with our Bass Pro Shops Camry.”
Last season was extra special for the Truex family as his brother Ryan Truex scored his first NASCAR Xfinity Series win one day prior at the Monster Mile.
“The whole weekend was pretty special last year,” Truex reflected. “For Ryan (Truex) to finally get that first Xfinity win out of the way was really cool – at our home track and probably one of my favorite tracks was really neat.”
Dover may be a welcome site for the 2017 Cup Series champion as he and the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team have endured a rough stretch this season.
Over the last three weeks, Truex has failed to finish in the top 10 after reeling off five straight top-10 efforts.
Despite the rough patch, the 43-year-old remains second in the standings, 15 points behind Kyle Larson.
His recent struggles may be a concern, however, Truex believes Dover presents the opportunity to “build on what we learned last year (at Dover) and so far this year.”
Truex believes qualifying will be important to having success at Dover.
“I think it’s important we qualify well, so hopefully we do that,” Truex said. “Generally, when you qualify well there, you get a good pit stall and it sets you up for a smoother day. Staying out front all day long is very important, and track position is very important since it’s hard to pass.
“It’s a very fast track and you want to keep your track position. Hopefully we can qualify well and it can set us up for a really good day. Corner speeds are so high at Dover that it does become hard to pass. But we’ve also had years where it’s been hard to pass and we’ve driven through the whole field there, like in 2019,” Truex continued.
“You’ve got to get your car dialed in right and, if you can do that, you can do pretty much what you want with it.”