Martin Truex Jr. is the favorite to win the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, but he and his team know they still have a lot of work ahead of them.
Cole Pearn, Truex’s crew chief, revealed Tuesday that the No. 78 team has one race in particular that could stand between the 37-year-old driver and his first Cup championship: the Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
“Talladega for us is our weak point, our superspeedway stats are pretty atrocious,” Pearn told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “If we can get through there OK, we’ll be OK, and then after that really it’s Homestead.”
Given that Truex claimed his fifth victory of 2017 on Sunday in the Tales of the Turtles 400, and has a 27-point lead in the standings, many within the sport are looking at the No. 78 as the car to beat. Pearn, however, suggests that’s not the attitude within Furniture Row Racing.
“I don’t know that we look at it so much like that. You just go out and try to do the best you can every week,” Pearn said. “I know that sounds vanilla, but it really is the truth.”
Although FRR acknowledges that Talladega will be a challenge, the team likely won’t be under too much pressure the rest of the year. Following his win at Chicagoland Speedway, Truex now has 58 bonus points that he can carry with him throughout the playoffs.
Thumbnail photo via Mike DiNovo/USA TODAY Sports Images
