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Truex To The Rescue

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 22, 2007

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had some advice for friend and teammate Martin Truex Jr. two weeks ago when NASCAR's Chase qualifiers had to appear in New York for a media blitz, and some were dreading it.

'I told Martin to try to really enjoy it,' Earnhardt said. 'He's worked so hard to get there. You look at all the photo albums and pictures of him coming up in go-karts and running his modifieds and running the Busch East. You see where he is now and how hard he's worked to get there.'

Truex, the two-time Busch Series champ who got off to a slow start in Nextel Cup, has indeed earned his plaudits. If he is not the man who saved Dale Earnhardt Inc., he is certainly the man who helped it save face.

When Earnhardt Jr., announced in May he was leaving the team his late father founded, DEI was left with no marquee driver and not much hope. There was reason to think sponsors and key personnel would bolt and DEI wouldn't be left with much.

Out Of Nowhere

Then Truex emerged from Earnhardt's shadow to win at Dover in June. He finished third at Pocono, second at Michigan, third at New Hampshire and second again at Michigan in a summer surge. Weeks later, he was in Chase and Earnhardt wasn't.

Truex filled a void, and Earnhardt, to his credit, applauds him for it.

'I think he wanted it and when we made the decision to leave, he went out there and won at Dover and sort of stepped up to the plate and became that guy,' Earnhardt said. 'I think he really wants it because he's raced underneath me for a couple years and he answers all the questions about Dale Jr., and he does it with patience.

'I would have a hard time putting up with it all the time. I think it's something he's really looking forward to, really getting out from behind and being at the forefront of the company."

There's no question Truex is at the forefront heading into Sunday's Dodge Dealers 400 at Dover. He's a mere 40 points out of first place after last week's promising fifth-place finish at New Hampshire, and he's back at the track where he scored his breakthrough victory in June.

Given that Truex led more than half of the first Dover race and season sweeps are common at the one-mile concrete track - Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman have Dover sweeps since 2000 - Truex has to be considered one of the favorites Sunday.

'I think everybody here will be better than they were last time, and we'll have to be better to win it again,' he said. 'So we're just doing our normal deal, working hard and trying to get the car the best we can get. In qualifying trim, we're a lot better than we were last time in qualifying trim so hopefully that will be great for the weekend.'

Steps For The Future

Truex's rise isn't the only important development at DEI since Earnhardt's announcement. The company owned by Dale Sr.'s widow Teresa merged its engine shop with Richard Childress Racing's. Far more recently, DEI absorbed Ginn Racing and its fairly competitive No. 01 team.

Tampa's Aric Almirola - 'Armadillo' is what Earnhardt calls him - was hired to share Earnhardt's No. 8 car with veteran Mark Martin next year, although it will be Earnhardt's No. 8 car in number only. The crew and sponsor (U.S. Army) from the No. 01 team will move to the No. 8.

With Almirola and Martin sharing a car and young Regan Smith coming aboard to drive the new No. 01, Truex will represent DEI's best shot at contending for the championship.

Earnhardt thinks his longtime friend and video game nemesis can do it this year.

'I pick Martin to win anytime anybody asks me,' he said. 'From what I'm seeing from the competition and I think the way Martin runs and his abilities and how competitive his team has become over the year, I think that he has the chance.

'He has as good and probably has a better chance than he even believes he has, so really it comes down trying to minimize your mistakes and I've learned that the hard way a couple times.'

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