Martin Truex Jr. claims the Next-Gen cars have made everything ‘challenging and tighter’
Martin Truex Jr. needs a solid day to avoid getting eliminated from the playoffs at ROVAL.
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Martin Truex Jr. (Via IMAGO)
2017 NASCAR Cup series champion Martin Truex Jr. has hinted that the seventh-generation Cup cars, dubbed the Next-Gen cars, have made the Cup races tighter than ever. He has admitted that with the car, NASCAR has achieved some of the major goals set for them, including making the field closer and competition tougher.
While talking ahead of the final race of the 20213 Cup playoff Round of 12, he pointed out that the car’s specs have made it harder to find an advantage on the tracks since every car is racing closer than ever. He said, “Ever since we went to the NextGen car, everything has been closer, and it makes it challenging, for sure. It’s harder to find an advantage. It’s harder to run at the front every week, consistently.”
He claimed that since everything is closer than ever, the races are less forgiving, and there is no room for error. The only way to progress to the next rounds in the postseason is to execute well on and off the track. He added, as reported by Reid Spencer of NASCAR Wire Service, “Everything is tighter, closer together, less room for error — and you really have to be on top of things. The points situation is the same as every other race.
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Martin Truex Jr. is having the worst momentum on track coming to ROVAL
The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran came to the playoff as a championship favorite after an impressive regular season title win. But since then, it all went downhill for him as he scored a single top-10 finish in the last five races. His best finish of the postseason is a P17, and his streak of five finishes outside the Top 15 is his worst streak since 2010.
Going to ROVAL, he is 17 points off the cut-line and needs to produce a solid race to survive. The last to finish at the track has been underwhelming. Tyler Reddick and Ross Chastain from the bottom four can give a strong challenge for the spot, and it’s concerning for him.
But the veteran is confident that if they can have a solid day on Sunday, he can progress and probably fight for the title as the R-8 tracks suit him more. He said, “It’s really, really hard to be at the front all of the time, and this weekend, we just need a solid day to hopefully get us through with some good tracks for us coming up.”
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Justin P Joy
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