Martin Truex Jr. breaks down the TRICKY challenges awaiting drivers at Richmond

Martin Truex Jr. lamented NASCAR's decision to introduce two types of compounds for the race at Richmond Raceway.

Martin Truex Jr. breaks down the TRICKY challenges awaiting drivers at Richmond

Martin Truex Jr. (Via IMAGO)

Richmond Raceway has been a staple in the NASCAR calendar since the series’ inception. However, the sub-one mile track is often found to be notorious among drivers as tire wear problems often subdue their races. On the contrary, to add an element of surprise, NASCAR decided to bring two sets of tires for the Cook 400, which led Martin Truex Jr. to criticize this change.

Martin Truex Jr. is a name to be reckoned with in the NASCAR field. He was the regular season champion last year and has been performing at a high level since his debut. However, as his full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver is nearing its end, the 44-year-old would like to go out with a bang and wants to make it in the Round of 16 as only four races remain before the playoffs begin.

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On the other hand, NASCAR decided to bring a change for the Cook 400 race where Truex was understood to leave its impression. The teams would be getting six sets of prime tires that would be more durable but would offer less grip. Whereas, they would also be allotted two sets of option tires per driver which would give more performance but would fade more quickly.

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The problem with options like that on a tire in the Cup garage is that everyone is so smart and people are on the same agenda. You are going to have to see a very specific set of circumstances to decide to put the soft tire on. You’re not going to be in the middle of a green-flag run and make a pit stop to pass a few cars because you’re going to wear them out and be in trouble.
Martin Truex Jr. said in a recent press conference

However, this change was not appreciated by the JGR driver as he reckoned such changes to be just a waste of time. He further clarified that the engineers in the garage have every single unit of data required and bringing in such compounds would not make any difference for them.

New NASCAR tire rule would make its debut at the Richmond Raceway

While the 44-year-old had a miserable weekend last time around at Richmond, his hopes for winning a race might have dipped down after a change in the tire allocation. On the other hand, Richmond is predicted to have a slight chance of rain during the race, warranting NASCAR to make a change in tire rules to prohibit a recreation of the race in Chicago a few weekends ago.

Rockingham Speedway Richmond
Rockingham Speedway, Richmond (Via IMAGO)

Subsequently, journalist Kelly Crandall revealed the recent changes in rules for wet races. The changes allowed drivers to change tiers and gave more autonomy to teams to manage their tire allocation.

NASCAR has updated the procedures for wet weather races, which will begin this weekend at Richmond Raceway
Kelly Crandall wrote

Despite such changes, the No.19 driver would like to make a strong impression at Richmond for possibly the last time in his career. Thus, Truex would be the driver to look out for as he would want to add another win to his tally of 34 Cup Series wins.

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