Press Release

Martin Truex Jr. secures the pole position for Sunday’s “Autism Speaks 400 presented by HERSHEY’S Milk & Milkshakes” at the Monster Mile

Release date: May 14, 2010
Contact: Dover PR

Click here to view the starting lineup for the "Autism Speaks 400 presented by HERSHEY'S Milk & Milkshakes."

DOVER, Del. – It’s been eight years since Martin Truex, Jr. came to Dover International Speedway and made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut driving his dad’s No. 56 car. On Friday, he returned to Dover for the first time in his new No. 56, now driving for Michael Waltrip Racing, and continued to add to his list of triumphs at the Monster Mile.

Truex with the pole award at Dover. Photo by Getty Images

Truex secured the pole for Sunday’s Autism Speaks 400 presented by HERSHEY’S Milk & Milkshakes with a lap of 157.315 mph, edging out Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson for the top spot. It’s his first pole at Dover and comes in the same race where Truex scored his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win back in June 2007.

“It was a good lap,” Truex said. “We had a really good practice coming in today. Qualifying this year is something we’ve struggled with, and we’ve put quite a bit of effort into coming up with a plan, and it worked for us.”

Martin, another perennial strong performer at Dover, actually wasn’t that pleased with his car in practice after they were just 17th quickest in the session. So his team’s third-place qualifying result was a surprise.

“Through our experience here, we made a judgment on some changes and hit it just right,” Martin said. “I really got a great lap. It was a little eventful up off of Turn 2. I had to lift out of the gas there for just a split second. It was fixin’ to get big there for just a second. I was real happy to be that fast, and was on a pole run up till that point.”

Kahne, who qualified second, had similar sentiments and anticipated more adjustments during Saturday’s practice sessions.

“It was a good run for us,” Kahne said. “I think we started in the same spot last year. So we’re looking forward to Sunday. We need to keep working on the car tomorrow.”

With Truex running his first season for Michael Waltrip Racing, his team has had to concentrate on setting up cars for races. This week, the team put some extra work into being ready to make a good qualifying run, and that work paid off when the time came.

“For the most part, we’ve been concentrating a lot more on race trim because we don’t have those notes to go off of,” Truex said. “This week we said we’re going to run 30 minutes of race trim [in practice] and then we’re going to qualifying. Just being prepared and having a good plan worked for us. Fortunately we were fast as soon as we went to qualifying trim, which made it easier. It definitely worked for us today.”

Truex's No. 56 NAPA Toyota

Truex hails from Mayetta, N.J., and has long considered Dover to be his home track. After his 2001 arrival on the NASCAR Nationwide Series scene, Truex used wins at Dover in fall 2004 and spring 2005 as part of his charge to two consecutive series championships. He followed up those Dover achievements with his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup win at the 2007 Autism Speaks 400. He’ll now look to add to that list on Sunday.

“Everything’s going great so far,” Truex said. “It’s been a good day and I’m so proud of my team. To come here with my old number, 56, which has always been so special to me, is great. Hopefully the best is yet to come, and we’ll be in here talking on Sunday.”

Jimmie Johnson quickest in practice
The first practice session for the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers at Dover on Friday saw a familiar name at the top. Jimmie Johnson was the fastest in the opening crack for drivers at the Monster Mile, turning a lap of 158.367 mph on the eighth of his ten times around the circuit.

Johnson, the four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup series champion, has won five career races at Dover including a sweep of both the May and September events in 2009. He’ll look to make it three in a row when he starts from the fifth position on Sunday.

“It’s been a great track for me over the years,” Johnson said of the Monster Mile. “When I think back to my first time driving at the track was probably in 1998. I loved the track when I came here and still today, it’s one of the tracks that really challenges the drivers in a lot of ways.”

Elliott Sadler wrecks
Elliott Sadler ran into some bad luck during practice, blowing a tire and hitting the wall. He was forced to his backup car and will start at the back of the field on Sunday.

“We think the sway bar was rubbing inside the right front tire,” Sadler said. “It’ll make it tough, starting in the back of the field. It’s a long race and we’ll just have to persevere and make the most of it.”

Brian Vickers hospitalized
There was wide concern throughout the garage Friday for the health of Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota. Vickers was hospitalized in Washington, D.C. late Wednesday after doctors found numerous blood clots in his chest and legs, and as a result will miss Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Casey Mears will drive the No. 83 in Vickers’ place.

Jay Frye, the vice president and general manager of Red Bull Racing, said Vickers was in Washington in advance of an event at Walter Reed Medical Center when he felt some discomfort in his chest and went to an area hospital to get checked out. Frye said a CT scan revealed the clots.

“He’s being given medication to dissolve the clots,” Frye said. “They don’t know at this point why it happened or what caused it to happen.”

The incident, while relatively minor to Vickers’ overall health, will deal a severe blow to the team’s “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup” hopes. Vickers entered the week 20th in points and will lose additional ground by missing the race.

Great seats still remain for both the Saturday and Sunday events at Dover International Speedway. For more information, or to purchase tickets, call 1-800-441-RACE or visit any ticket booth at the track.

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