Honoring Fallen Heroes, Being Competitive Part of Memorial Day Weekend of Racing for Truex Jr.

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Attacking one of the four biggest races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is precisely what Martin Truex Jr. plans to do in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
 
The Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR’s longest race – 400 laps, 600 miles – is considered one of the most prestigious along with the Daytona 500, Southern 500 (Darlington, S.C.) and the Brickyard 400 (Indianapolis).
 
“The Coca-Cola 600 is one of the crown jewels in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series,” said Truex. “And what makes this race even more special is that it falls on Memorial Day weekend, which is a time to honor our brave military personnel who paid the ultimate sacrifice to preserve freedom.”
 
Truex’s Colorado-based team will carry a special paint scheme on the hood of its No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet. The flat-black car will showcase the Colorado Freedom Memorial, which honors every fallen Colorado military veteran, dating back to the Spanish American war in 1896.
 
Nearly 6000 names are printed on the glass panels of the Colorado Freedom Memorial, located outside of Denver in Aurora, Colorado.  
 
“We have a big race this weekend, but we can’t forget that this is also a weekend of reflection to remember all those veterans who have perished in battle to preserve our freedom,” said Truex. “NASCAR has been a big supporter of the military over the years and I am happy that our owner Barney Visser donated the hood of our car to the Colorado Freedom Memorial.”
 
While Truex and many other NASCAR drivers will honor the nation’s fallen heroes, the Furniture Row Racing driver will also be on a competitive mission.
 
“A victory would go a long way for our single-car team,” stated Truex. “To make the Chase it now appears a win is needed. We have the potential to secure a victory, but we need to find more luck and more speed than what we had last week in the Sprint All-Star Race.”
 
For the record, Truex was a victim in last week’s All-Star event, finishing 18th. He retired from the race early (second lap of fourth segment) after getting caught up in Jeff Gordon’s troubled car. Greg Biffle also took a hit at the same time and was forced to retire from the race.
 
“Something happened to Jeff’s car and it caused a chain reaction, sending all three of us to the garage,” said Truex, who had finishes of 17th, 15th and 10th in the first three segments. “These things happen, it wasn’t anyone’s fault. I am sure Jeff feels bad about what happened. We have a second chance at Charlotte to prove ourselves, and hopefully it will end with more speed and a stronger result.”
 
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