Another Martin Truex Jr. Championship Wouldn’t Surprise Steve Letarte

Martin Truex Jr. is back in the playoffs after winning two races, and he has the points lead. This doesn’t mean that he will ultimately reach the championship four, but Steve Letarte would not be surprised to see him win another title.

Letarte provided the comments during an NBC Sports media session on June 20. He explained that Truex went through a slump during the 2022 season. This is nothing new for top-level athletes, but Truex and his team persevered. They got back to their winning ways early in 2023, and they set themselves up for a strong summer.

“Now that the drought is over, I don’t know why Martin couldn’t be that multi-time champion that some of us are surprised he isn’t,” Letarte said. “It’s very quick and easy to forget that he was one or two pit stops from being a two- or a three-time champ. That is sports, that is how things fall at times.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me, even in the twilight of his career with only I’m sure a few years left, he could easily find his way to the championship four at Phoenix. We’ve seen year in and year out, I think that’s all you can ask for.

“Then you have to hope for a good Sunday in Phoenix to become a champion. I think there’s definitely a pathway for Martin Truex to get to Phoenix as a championship contender.”

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Pit Stops Disrupted Championship Dreams

The pit stops that Letarte mentioned occurred during Truex’s past two appearances in the championship four. Back in 2019, the No. 19 pit crew accidentally swapped the front tires on the No. 19 Toyota Camry.

This miscue disrupted a day in which he led 103 laps in what appeared to be the best car in the field. It also opened up the door for then-teammate Kyle Busch to win his second championship.

The second stop was in the 2021 season finale. Truex was in the lead during the final stage while teammate Denny Hamlin was the only driver within reach of challenging for the win. It appeared that the two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers would battle for the win, but NASCAR threw the caution for debris with 30 laps remaining.

The championship four drivers headed down pit road for their final stops, and Kyle Larson’s team used the opportunity to turn in the fastest stop of the day. The Hendrick Motorsports driver left pit road in first place while Hamlin was in second.

Once the race restarted, Truex jumped up to second place and began to chase down Larson. He was unable to achieve this as Larson led the final 28 laps and won the first championship of his career.

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Letarte Nailed 2 Predictions in 2022

The former crew chief-turned-analyst has made many comments about Truex over the years since moving to NBC Sports, and he has nailed two separate predictions about the 2017 Cup Series champion.

The first prediction was in February 2022. He said that Truex could miss the playoffs due to the teams moving to the Next Gen car and the veteran’s absence during testing sessions.

This prediction came true as Truex went winless and missed the playoffs. He still delivered a consistent season overall, but there were too many winners for him to point his way in.

The second prediction was in August 2022. Letarte said that he was glad Truex made the decision to return for another season in the Cup Series. He then predicted that the veteran would return to the playoffs in 2023 and make a deep run.

Truex has delivered on one part of the prediction. He has won two races — Dover Motor Speedway and Sonoma Raceway — and firmly entrenched himself in the playoffs. Now, the next step is making a run through the opening rounds.

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Truex Reflected on His Bounce-Back Season

What was the main reason for Truex snapping this winless streak and getting back into the playoffs? Was he more familiar with the cars, or was it the fact that he and the No. 19 team just kept pushing forward while blocking out the noise?

Truex has actually mentioned multiple factors that played a role in his return to Victory Lane. He mentioned after his win at Sonoma that it was important to keep the team together and overcome the mistakes that plagued it in 2019.

Truex also acknowledged the role that the Next Gen cars played in his winless season. There were times when the No. 19 team was just trying to figure out the best setup for the various races, but there was not enough time to fix any mistakes.

The 2023 season, for comparison, provided opportunities for the No. 19 team to go back to notes from the first year of the Next Gen era and see exactly what did not work.

“Last year was a big learning curve,” Truex said, per Joe Gibbs Racing. “We were trying to figure out what direction we needed to go in at races with this car and, having 15-minute practices where you opt-in on what you show up with, there is really no time to recover if you show up with some bad ideas or things that didn’t work.

“You have to wait till you go back to that track again. Just all of that learning process and figuring things out has been a big factor for us. I think our cars are better this year, as well. Toyota did some work in the offseason, and everybody at JGR worked hard to try to put the pieces together so I think, overall, we just have a better platform to work with and a better understanding of what we need.”

 

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