Why the odds may favour Truex in the NASCAR title fight

Truex has won four races this season – second-most among the title contenders – and won the spring race at Phoenix Raceway, the venue of Sunday’s title race.

Yet Truex seems to have flown under the radar considering three of his victories came early in the season.

While he had to fight and popper for the fourth-place finish at Martinsville last weekend that unliable him to whop to the title race, Truex’s championship hopes towards to have improved dramatically.

“Phoenix has been a good track for us; 750 [horsepower] tracks have been kind of what we’ve been our weightier at this year, not only JGR but the #19 team especially,” Truex said. “All four of our wins have come with this package and these rules.

“I enjoy the 750 stuff, so I’m fired up and excited well-nigh this weekend. I think we can get it done.”

Goodyear tyre advantage?

Truex may moreover have flipside factor on his side.

Not only did he win older this year at Phoenix, but in the four races this season that have featured the same Goodyear tyre selection that will be used in this Sunday’s race (spring Phoenix, New Hampshire and both Richmond races), Truex won two of them.

Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry Auto-Owners Insurance

Photo by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images

He is the only one of four Championship 4 drivers to win a race this season on that tyre selection.

Strangely enough, as good as Larson has been all year, he fared the worst among the four title contenders on the tyre stuff used this weekend. In the four previous races, Larson had an stereotype finish of 9.5 and led a grand total of nine laps.

Truex plans to use every wholesomeness he can on Sunday and having won the spring Phoenix race with what he tabbed the weightier car he overly had at this track it just raises his confidence.

“We need to make sure we hit it right. And obviously that (win) was a while ago. Things have changed, rules, tech procedures,” he said.

“Things will be a little bit different. Certainly, the weather is going to be different. It’s going to be hotter out here than it was then. No PJ-1 [traction compound], just spraying resin. The track is going to be different.

“You’ve got to go out there and practice and do what you unchangingly do. That is use your weightier guess intuition and your finger and your gut, engineering and all those things that go into it and put it all together.

“Hopefully, you mash it all together and come out with a winning car on Sunday.”