Truex led more than half the race’s 160 laps on the way to the victory. It was the third straight race he scored race-high laps, but after disappointments at Charlotte and Dover, where he finished fifth and sixth respectively, Truex got to drive into victory lane.
“We finally got it,” he said. “Throughout my career, I’ve kind of gotten used to disappointment, honestly, and I’ve learned to deal with those days where it didn’t go your way, even though you didn’t do anything wrong.”
The win at Pocono Raceway was the third of Truex’s career and in a season that is shaping up to be the best in his 12 years on the Sprint Cup circuit. He has finished in the Top 10 in all but one of 14 races this year and sits second in the series drivers standings.
“We’ve had a great season,” said Truex Jr. “We have had everything it has taken to win races, (but) we just hadn’t got it done.”
At the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400, the winner said all he was thinking about was looking for the white flag, signaling the last lap of the race.
“Honestly, from 20 to go, whenever that last flag was, we got a good lead and it was like, all right, focus, hit your marks, don’t overdrive it and it was all about the white flag from there and no cautions,” Truex said. “It worked out.”
Reigning Sprint Cut Series champion Kevin Harvick finished the race in second, the 10th Top 2 finish in 14 races this season, admitted he had little to offer in challenge to Truex Jr.
“It was really no battle. He got out there too far on the restarts,” Harvick said. “We were struggling with third gear on the restarts and kind of had to go into defense mode to just kind of protect out track position.”
Third-place finisher Jimmie Johnson said he was happy with the race standing, considering he ran with a damaged car, struggled with restarts all afternoon and had to deal a flat tire.
“We overcame a lot today,” Johnson said. “We really didn’t have the pace for (Truex. Jr. or Harvick). We’ll take it. Scrappy day for us.”
Truex’s win was a popular one among his competitors, who acknowledged his commitment on the track while battling issues in in personal life, such as dealing with his longtime girlfriend battle with cancer last year and with the recent death of his grandmother. Harvick said off-track issues are harder to deal with than getting the car and racing.
“You look at everything, personally and professionally, Martin and Sherry (Pollex) have dealt with and you have yo be super-happy for them. To see them have a bright spot is something, I think, the whole garage will support and be happy with,” Harvick said. “If you’re going to lose to somebody today, that’s a great person to lose to.”
The reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion continues to lead the drivers standings. After 14 races, Harvick is 39 points ahead of Truex Jr. And 78 in front of Johnson.
Truex likes where he is in the standings and his chances in competing for the championship.
“Look at what we’ve done the last four weeks. We’ve went head-to-head with the big guys (Harvick and Johnson), who’ve been the guys to beat for a year and a half. . We’ve been right there with them, toe-to-toe,” he said. “I think we’re still growing. We’re still getting better. I’m just excited to be part of it.”
The next stop on the Sprint Cup Series schedule is in Brooklyn, Michigan, for the Quicken Loans 400, at Michigan International Speedway on June 14, 2015.
