Martin Truex Jr. Keeps Back-to-Back Championship Campaign Alive with Strong Finish at Kansas

Martin Truex Jr. had an interesting day, to say the least. From being under the cut line a few times throughout the race to finishing the race above the cut line, Kansas was a race that reflected how the second round went for the No. 78 team - a roller coaster ride.

“It was definitely a tough day – a blue collared day for sure," said Truex. "We worked hard. The guys never gave up on the car, they just kept working on it for me and I just kept trying to get all I could out of it. Pit crew really saved our butts today man, they were unbelievable. That’s definitely something you need going down the stretch here for a championship and we’ll regroup and go to Martinsville next week and try to go get a win.”

Truex Jr. finished 15th at Dover, 23rd last weekend at Talladega, and fifth today at Kansas. This stage was a prime example of what it means to take all of the points possible when they are within grabbing room. The points helped seal the deal for Truex to re-enter the Round of Eight for the second straight season and now sits above the cut line with a nice little cushion. The key to this round and this race for the No. 78 team has been a statement used with the team many times throughout the last few years - never give up.

“It was a battle for sure," said Truex. "At times it was pretty bad and not much fun. That’s part of this deal. This stuff is hard man. It shows how difficult it is you know to win both races here last year and run second in the spring and then come back trying to be better and struggling all day, but we still managed to get fifth, which is a really good day for us. We struggled a little bit yesterday in practice and we though we knew what to do to fix the problems. Clearly, we didn’t because we had the same ones today, but proud of the effort of all the guys. All our guys back in Denver, I got to thank them for continuing to build great race cars and keep their heads in the game. Also, our pit crew. They definitely kept us in it today. They’re probably the reason we transferred on. They were unbelievable. They kept getting us track position and those last couple runs of the race we got our car way better and was able to hang on to it."

The No. 78 team will now head to the Martinsville Speedway a place where they begin to seal the deal in 2017 after finishing the race in second. After starting from the pole in the spring, Truex Jr. finished the race in fourth at Martinsville. Truex will need to have a solid next few weeks and have some help in order to be able to defend his 2017 championship.

The biggest story coming out of the day .... the big three survive to live another round. (Koelle,2018)

Photo Credit: Brandon Wright/Brandon Wright Photography

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