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Martin Truex Jr is coming off the best season of his career in 2016. It was an amazing season for him and the 78 team. This was one year after turning heads in 2015 with another impressive season. You can make a strong case for Truex as a top 5 driver over the past two seasons! Something, I didn't think was possible after the way things ended for him at MWR. That whole Clint Bowyer-incident in 2013 was the best thing that ever happened to Martin. Crazy to say that something good came from it, right?
Intermediate tracks
In 2016, Martin Truex Jr was a stud on the intermediate tracks in general. Especially on the 1.5 mile tracks. The cookie cutters were Martin's personal playground! His overall numbers across the board were incredible to say the least. Excluding Homestead, he was the best driver by far. In 9 races (on 1.5 mile tracks), he had 7.0 average finish (series-best), 6.2 average running position (series-best), 116.5 driver rating (series-best) and 711 laps led (series-best). He also posted season's high of 150 driver rating and high of a season's low driver rating 88.8. To further prove my point, he's posted 366 fast laps in 2016. Second and third most? 250 (Johnson) and 227 (Harvick). What he did in 2016 on this type of track is a thing of beauty! He dominated in every aspect, where words cannot do justification.
I consider Texas as Martin's best intermediate track. Time and time again, he has shown why he's good at Texas. Last season was a prime example. You could make the argument he was a top 2 driver at Texas in 2016. In the past 4 races at Texas, he's finished 9th or better. Texas always been a good track for Martin. As 7 of his previous 11 races at this place ended inside the top 9. Last season, he was the best driver in both races combined among ''active'' drivers. In 2016 at Texas, Martin posted 4.5 average finish, 3.0 average running position, 207 laps led and 127.5 driver rating. Minus average finish (4th-best in the series by the way), he was ranked first in just about everything. Pretty good, wouldn't you say?
You could make a case for him at a couple other intermediate tracks, too. Darlington, Charlotte, Dover, Homestead and Chicago are all great tracks for him. He's ran so well over the past couple seasons, you could probably make a case for him at just about any intermediate track. If he has the season, I am expecting. Then we can expect pretty much top 5 potential on a weekly basis out of him on this type of track.
Short Flat tracks
The Short flat tracks should be a hidden strength for him. In 2016, he was very underrated. Most people only think of on the intermediate. However, he proven to be a powerful punch on the short flat tracks. In 5 races (minus Phoenix fall race), he had 9.8 average finish, 6.4 average running position, 457 laps led and 113.0 driver rating. Was he the best driver in the series at this type of track? No, but much better than people give him credit for though. He arguably had the car to beat at both New Hampshire races and the 2nd Richmond race. He's led 120+ in all three of those races.
New Hampshire is the track that, we are going to look at first. For obvious reason that I stated up above. He was impressive last season at New Hampshire! In 2 races in 2016, he had 11.5 average finish, 2.5 average start, 3.0 average running position, 125.1 driver rating, 264 laps led and 86 fast lap. When comparing the numbers, he was the 3rd-best driver in 2016 at New Hampshire. Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth were just slightly better. However, Truex Jr did have bad luck in both races. How has he fair over the long term at New Hampshire? Well, he has finished inside the top 12 in 6 of last 7 races. While finishing 7th and 8th in two of his last three races.
Richmond been pretty good to Truex over the past 3 or 4 seasons. In his past 7 races at Richmond, he's finished 10th or better in 5 of his past 7 races. He has some good races in that span at Richmond, but one race stands out from the rest. That race? His most recent race at the 0.75-mile track. He was dominated on that day. He's led 193 of 400 laps on his way to an 3rd-place finish. Hard to say who was better between Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex. Their numbers in that race were near even. They led a combined 389 laps. They were co-dominant drivers really, one wasn't better than the other.
Phoenix is most likely his weak track of the three. Even with the 78 team, he has struggled to get the quality finishes. When I refer to ''quality finishes'' with Truex, I am referring to top 10 finishes. However, he has had a lot of finishes in the 12th-14th range though. In his last 7 races at Phoenix, he's finished 7th-14th in 5 races. With 4 of his last 5 races ending in 14th or better, too. Martin haven't been stout, but he is getting the results at Phoenix! Just not one of his best tracks though.
Large Flat tracks
Truex was better on the larger flat tracks than his numbers showed in 2016. His numbers weren't great overall in 2016 at Pocono, but it is key to know what happened to him in the races. In the first Pocono race, he had terrible luck. He got into another car and had to make multiple pit stops to fix damage in first half of the race. After that, he had multiple flat tires. Including one directly after he had great track position. The second Pocono race was arguably worse than the first one. He had a car that was easily capable of dominating. All weekend, he had the car to beat. He started on the pole and looked to dominate. However, then he got involved in a big wreck after losing some track position. He repaired the damages but his car was never the same. He's wrecked again and then eventually just called it a day. Believe it or not, but Pocono is a great track for Truex. Won here in June 2015, had a top 5 car in August 2015 (before running out of fuel) and had a dominant-capable car in August 2016.
Indy has been kinder to Truex in recent seasons, I would say. In his past 4 races (minus 2014 race - bad finish), he's posted 7.8 average finish, 11.3 average running position and 99.5 driver rating. Pretty strong numbers overall. Last season was his best performance ever at Indy. He started 8th, finished 8th, held 6.0 average running position and 114.5 driver rating with 17 fast laps. Statistically in the race, he's ranked 2nd in average running position, driver rating and fast laps. However, I remember him being like the 3rd-best driver in that event. Kenseth numbers were a bit inflated due to him starting further back. Truex should be a great on the large flat racetracks!
Short tracks
I wouldn't call Truex is a great short track racer, but he is more than capable in his level-equipment though. His numbers at Martinsville are quite good, better than people would initially think honestly. He's finished 6th or 7th in 3 of his last 4 races at Martinsville. That's impressive because he had only 4 Top 10 finishes in his first 18 starts at this track. He has 3 just in his past 4 races there. So 3 of his 7 career top 10 finishes came in the last two seasons. Another interesting thing about Truex in the last two seasons at Martinsville? When he qualified well, he has finished well. Qualified inside the top 3 in 3 of his last 4 races. Where did he finish in those three races? 6th, 6th and 7th.
Bristol could be considered one of his worst tracks on the schedule over the last couple seasons! Performance wise (of tracks we visit twice per season, not named Talladega), it is considered his worst track over last three seasons. Over the past 3 seasons (6 races) at Bristol: 25.0 average finish, 17.2 average running position and 79.1 driver rating. Not sure how those numbers stack up to the other 22 tracks. But with that way he has ran, I am willing to bet it is near the bottom. Is Truex as the numbers suggest? Absolutely not! Sure in 2016, he had an 18.5 average finish. That average finish was ranked as 16th-best in the series. Well that was very misleading though. He had the 2nd-best (10.0) average running position in races combined at Martinsville in 2016. Also, he had the 2nd-best (102.6) driver rating in the series, too. I rest my case!
Road Courses
The road courses are a underrated type track for Truex! I have considered them a place where Truex can surprise people for some reason. He's a former winner at Sonoma, yet people still discount him at both places. He's very good at both road courses and been so for awhile now. Even before winning in 2012, he was well on his way to success. He's won at Sonoma back in 2013 and has found success there over the past 6 seasons overall. In his last 6 races at Sonoma, Truex has finished 15th or better four times. And three times over last 5 races, he's posted a driver rating well over 100.0. That's very solid! Watkins Glenn is his better track, in my opinion. He's never won there, but numbers speak for themselves. In his last 6 races, he's finished 10th or better four times. While finishing 13th or better five times. He's very good at the road courses, no doubt!
Plate Tracks
Look, I am not going to sit here and try to convince you that Truex is a great plate racer. He's never won at either Daytona or Talladega. With that said, he has the horsepower advantage to be up front with the other Toyotas. Over the past 2 seasons (8 races), he has finished 4 times inside the top 8. That's 50% accuracy of finishing inside the top 10! Something I noticed about his results at Daytona and Talladega recently? His numbers are extremely good in the winter/spring races. Meaning the Daytona 500s and first Talladega races. 8th (Daytona 2015), 2nd (Daytona 2016), 7th (Talladega 2015 - Spring race) and 13th (Talladega 2016 - Spring race). His finishes in the summer/fall over the past two seasons? 7th, 40th, 28th and 29th. Yikes, that's not good! Did these trends happen on accident? Most likely. But you know, right? It is a trend, until the pattern is disprove!
*All Stats are from Driver Averages and Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
Twitter - @Garryy12
Martin Truex Jr is coming off the best season of his career in 2016. It was an amazing season for him and the 78 team. This was one year after turning heads in 2015 with another impressive season. You can make a strong case for Truex as a top 5 driver over the past two seasons! Something, I didn't think was possible after the way things ended for him at MWR. That whole Clint Bowyer-incident in 2013 was the best thing that ever happened to Martin. Crazy to say that something good came from it, right?
Intermediate tracks
In 2016, Martin Truex Jr was a stud on the intermediate tracks in general. Especially on the 1.5 mile tracks. The cookie cutters were Martin's personal playground! His overall numbers across the board were incredible to say the least. Excluding Homestead, he was the best driver by far. In 9 races (on 1.5 mile tracks), he had 7.0 average finish (series-best), 6.2 average running position (series-best), 116.5 driver rating (series-best) and 711 laps led (series-best). He also posted season's high of 150 driver rating and high of a season's low driver rating 88.8. To further prove my point, he's posted 366 fast laps in 2016. Second and third most? 250 (Johnson) and 227 (Harvick). What he did in 2016 on this type of track is a thing of beauty! He dominated in every aspect, where words cannot do justification.
I consider Texas as Martin's best intermediate track. Time and time again, he has shown why he's good at Texas. Last season was a prime example. You could make the argument he was a top 2 driver at Texas in 2016. In the past 4 races at Texas, he's finished 9th or better. Texas always been a good track for Martin. As 7 of his previous 11 races at this place ended inside the top 9. Last season, he was the best driver in both races combined among ''active'' drivers. In 2016 at Texas, Martin posted 4.5 average finish, 3.0 average running position, 207 laps led and 127.5 driver rating. Minus average finish (4th-best in the series by the way), he was ranked first in just about everything. Pretty good, wouldn't you say?
You could make a case for him at a couple other intermediate tracks, too. Darlington, Charlotte, Dover, Homestead and Chicago are all great tracks for him. He's ran so well over the past couple seasons, you could probably make a case for him at just about any intermediate track. If he has the season, I am expecting. Then we can expect pretty much top 5 potential on a weekly basis out of him on this type of track.
Short Flat tracks
The Short flat tracks should be a hidden strength for him. In 2016, he was very underrated. Most people only think of on the intermediate. However, he proven to be a powerful punch on the short flat tracks. In 5 races (minus Phoenix fall race), he had 9.8 average finish, 6.4 average running position, 457 laps led and 113.0 driver rating. Was he the best driver in the series at this type of track? No, but much better than people give him credit for though. He arguably had the car to beat at both New Hampshire races and the 2nd Richmond race. He's led 120+ in all three of those races.
New Hampshire is the track that, we are going to look at first. For obvious reason that I stated up above. He was impressive last season at New Hampshire! In 2 races in 2016, he had 11.5 average finish, 2.5 average start, 3.0 average running position, 125.1 driver rating, 264 laps led and 86 fast lap. When comparing the numbers, he was the 3rd-best driver in 2016 at New Hampshire. Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth were just slightly better. However, Truex Jr did have bad luck in both races. How has he fair over the long term at New Hampshire? Well, he has finished inside the top 12 in 6 of last 7 races. While finishing 7th and 8th in two of his last three races.
Richmond been pretty good to Truex over the past 3 or 4 seasons. In his past 7 races at Richmond, he's finished 10th or better in 5 of his past 7 races. He has some good races in that span at Richmond, but one race stands out from the rest. That race? His most recent race at the 0.75-mile track. He was dominated on that day. He's led 193 of 400 laps on his way to an 3rd-place finish. Hard to say who was better between Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex. Their numbers in that race were near even. They led a combined 389 laps. They were co-dominant drivers really, one wasn't better than the other.
Phoenix is most likely his weak track of the three. Even with the 78 team, he has struggled to get the quality finishes. When I refer to ''quality finishes'' with Truex, I am referring to top 10 finishes. However, he has had a lot of finishes in the 12th-14th range though. In his last 7 races at Phoenix, he's finished 7th-14th in 5 races. With 4 of his last 5 races ending in 14th or better, too. Martin haven't been stout, but he is getting the results at Phoenix! Just not one of his best tracks though.
Large Flat tracks
Truex was better on the larger flat tracks than his numbers showed in 2016. His numbers weren't great overall in 2016 at Pocono, but it is key to know what happened to him in the races. In the first Pocono race, he had terrible luck. He got into another car and had to make multiple pit stops to fix damage in first half of the race. After that, he had multiple flat tires. Including one directly after he had great track position. The second Pocono race was arguably worse than the first one. He had a car that was easily capable of dominating. All weekend, he had the car to beat. He started on the pole and looked to dominate. However, then he got involved in a big wreck after losing some track position. He repaired the damages but his car was never the same. He's wrecked again and then eventually just called it a day. Believe it or not, but Pocono is a great track for Truex. Won here in June 2015, had a top 5 car in August 2015 (before running out of fuel) and had a dominant-capable car in August 2016.
Indy has been kinder to Truex in recent seasons, I would say. In his past 4 races (minus 2014 race - bad finish), he's posted 7.8 average finish, 11.3 average running position and 99.5 driver rating. Pretty strong numbers overall. Last season was his best performance ever at Indy. He started 8th, finished 8th, held 6.0 average running position and 114.5 driver rating with 17 fast laps. Statistically in the race, he's ranked 2nd in average running position, driver rating and fast laps. However, I remember him being like the 3rd-best driver in that event. Kenseth numbers were a bit inflated due to him starting further back. Truex should be a great on the large flat racetracks!
Short tracks
I wouldn't call Truex is a great short track racer, but he is more than capable in his level-equipment though. His numbers at Martinsville are quite good, better than people would initially think honestly. He's finished 6th or 7th in 3 of his last 4 races at Martinsville. That's impressive because he had only 4 Top 10 finishes in his first 18 starts at this track. He has 3 just in his past 4 races there. So 3 of his 7 career top 10 finishes came in the last two seasons. Another interesting thing about Truex in the last two seasons at Martinsville? When he qualified well, he has finished well. Qualified inside the top 3 in 3 of his last 4 races. Where did he finish in those three races? 6th, 6th and 7th.
Bristol could be considered one of his worst tracks on the schedule over the last couple seasons! Performance wise (of tracks we visit twice per season, not named Talladega), it is considered his worst track over last three seasons. Over the past 3 seasons (6 races) at Bristol: 25.0 average finish, 17.2 average running position and 79.1 driver rating. Not sure how those numbers stack up to the other 22 tracks. But with that way he has ran, I am willing to bet it is near the bottom. Is Truex as the numbers suggest? Absolutely not! Sure in 2016, he had an 18.5 average finish. That average finish was ranked as 16th-best in the series. Well that was very misleading though. He had the 2nd-best (10.0) average running position in races combined at Martinsville in 2016. Also, he had the 2nd-best (102.6) driver rating in the series, too. I rest my case!
Road Courses
The road courses are a underrated type track for Truex! I have considered them a place where Truex can surprise people for some reason. He's a former winner at Sonoma, yet people still discount him at both places. He's very good at both road courses and been so for awhile now. Even before winning in 2012, he was well on his way to success. He's won at Sonoma back in 2013 and has found success there over the past 6 seasons overall. In his last 6 races at Sonoma, Truex has finished 15th or better four times. And three times over last 5 races, he's posted a driver rating well over 100.0. That's very solid! Watkins Glenn is his better track, in my opinion. He's never won there, but numbers speak for themselves. In his last 6 races, he's finished 10th or better four times. While finishing 13th or better five times. He's very good at the road courses, no doubt!
Plate Tracks
Look, I am not going to sit here and try to convince you that Truex is a great plate racer. He's never won at either Daytona or Talladega. With that said, he has the horsepower advantage to be up front with the other Toyotas. Over the past 2 seasons (8 races), he has finished 4 times inside the top 8. That's 50% accuracy of finishing inside the top 10! Something I noticed about his results at Daytona and Talladega recently? His numbers are extremely good in the winter/spring races. Meaning the Daytona 500s and first Talladega races. 8th (Daytona 2015), 2nd (Daytona 2016), 7th (Talladega 2015 - Spring race) and 13th (Talladega 2016 - Spring race). His finishes in the summer/fall over the past two seasons? 7th, 40th, 28th and 29th. Yikes, that's not good! Did these trends happen on accident? Most likely. But you know, right? It is a trend, until the pattern is disprove!
*All Stats are from Driver Averages and Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
Twitter - @Garryy12
