A disappointing qualifying effort left Martin Truex Jr. 15th on the grid for Saturday night’s Bank of America 500—as one of only three Chase drivers who will start outside the top 12.
“We just guessed wrong on the track,” Truex said. “We thought it was going to go one way, and it went the opposite. Our first run, we were kind of caught out and had to make big adjustments. Of course, you have (one more) run on your tires than everybody (else).
“We made good gains, and our last run was by far our best—just that extra run on tires really hurts you, and we still didn’t get it right. Just guessed wrong on the track—you’ll have that sometimes.”
When the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars hit the track for Friday’s first practice, however, Truex seemed to have his issues sorted out. His No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet was fourth fastest in the session, behind only Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards and Ryan Newman.
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