Truex still chasing elusive second win at his home track

Associated Press

DOVER, DEL.

Martin Truex Jr. waited a lifetime for the triumphant feeling of winning a Cup race.

When he took the checkered flag at Dover International Speedway in June 2007, Truex’s boyhood dream came true — at a spot he considers his hometown track.

More than five years later, in what only seems like a lifetime in NASCAR, Truex is still waiting for his second win.

Sunday would be a great time to get one. Truex needs a victory in a hurry if he wants to jumpstart his already fading championship pursuit.

His first victory is becoming a distant memory.

“I don’t think I probably enjoyed it as much as I should have,” Truex said. “I didn’t think it would be this far until the next one.”

The victory drought continues even as he enjoys perhaps his best season.

Truex is having his strongest season since he made the Chase for now-defunct Dale Earnhardt Inc. in 2007. His six top-five finishes this season for Michael Waltrip Racing are one more than his combined total from 2009-2011 and he came oh-so close to winning in September at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Throw in a three-year contract extension with primary sponsor NAPA and MWR, and it’s really been a season to savor for Truex.

Winning a championship would make it that much sweeter.

But with eight races left, time is already running out to make a serious run.

Truex, from nearby Mayetta, N.J., finished ninth and 17th in his first Chase races and is 10th in the standings entering Sunday’s race at Dover. He’s 34 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

He showed flashes Friday in the No. 56 Toyota that he should be in the thick of contention for a win when he posted the fastest time in the first practice with a speed of 157.082 mph.

“It’s a big weekend for us. We really haven’t started the Chase off the way we want to,” Truex said Friday. “This is a good place for us to come and turn it around and get on the right track, get the momentum going in the right direction.”

Busch set to drive No. 78 in Charlotte

Kurt Busch is so confident in his new ride he’s starting to sound a bit like LeBron James.

“I’m going to bring my talents to Denver,” Busch said, “and bring the championship out there.”

Busch is taking his talents to the No. 78 Chevrolet for Furniture Row Racing — his third team in three years — and he paraphrased the NBA star’s famous line in announcing his plans.

Busch will get an early jump and drive the final six races of the season for his new team, starting with the Oct. 13 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He said the feeling-out process will help them avoid heading to the season-opening Daytona 500 with that “deer in the headlights” feeling before such a huge race.

“We want to be that gang that shows up at Daytona as one of the teams with an asterisk next to it,” he said. “That means we have a shot to win.”