Truex: All-Star Format ‘Really Great’ This Year

By Ron Lemasters Jr.

CHARLOTTE – Martin Truex Jr. is very good on 1.5-mile ovals, and he’s generally excellent at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Heading into the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race this coming weekend, he’s excited about the format for NASCAR’s winner-take-all extravaganza.

“Well, I think the format this year is really good,” he said. “I think obviously last year I didn't think it was a good idea to do it the way they did because of the way it all worked out. The guy winning the first segment being able to start first, I don't think they were prepared for that to happen exactly the way it did. It had a chance to be probably a better show.

“This year I think the format is good. Obviously with the incentive to win all the segments, guys are not going to say, OK, we're in good shape for the last one, we're going to take it easy and take care of our stuff, make sure we're in that last one. I think you're going to see all out racing all night long, which is a great thing.  Obviously we hope to be a part of that. I think honestly the new way they're doing it this year is probably one of the best they've had as far as, again, having that incentive to win all of 'em.  Guys are going to be after it.  I think we're going to see some exciting racing.” 

Truex wasn’t all that enthused about the old inversion format they used to run, either. He prefers racing for the top spot and keeping it.

“I never really liked that because you weren't really sure what to do,” Truex said. “I think some guys took chances on sandbagging a little bit, hoping they'd invert, let's say, eight, they'd try to finish eighth if they could.  I think all out racing, no invert, the guys that win start up front, that's the way to do it.”

Truex is not currently in the All-Star Race, but has the Sprint Showdown and the Fan Vote as chances to make it in. He won the fan vote in 2005, too.

“Obviously when I won it in 2005, I was completely and absolutely shocked and humbled to be voted in by the fans,” he said. “Our sport revolves around the fans.  We talk about it all the time.  Without them, there would be no NASCAR, we would not be doing what we're doing.  I get to drive race cars for a living.  Growing up as a kid, I never thought that was even a possibility.

“To get voted in by the fans was one of the coolest things I've ever had happen to me in my whole career.  Maybe this year we'll have a chance at it.”

Well…it will be a long shot, Truex said.

“I would say my odds are not very good with Danica being in there,” he said. “But my fans have been voting, they've been on Twitter talking about it.  I want to thank them.  It's cool to have that support from all those guys.  It's really neat.”