Martin Truex Jr. Having Great Season

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Published on September 6 2016 6:32 am
Last Updated on September 6 2016 6:32 am

By ESPN

Martin Truex Jr. has enjoyed a great 2016 season. He just doesn't know it yet.

When a driver wins two of the most historic races in a year, the driver will look back and think of it as cool. Especially with the elimination-style, one-bad-race-can-ruin-you Chase for the Sprint Cup format, any driver who doesn't win a championship really can't look at it to define success.

But winning possibly the two most grueling races in NASCAR in a span of a little more than three months? That's something to be proud of when looking back on a season.

So Truex can look back on 2016 -- when it ends in November -- with pride. He owns the trophies from the race that was known for a long time as the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Two of the sport's crown jewels, for sure.

He won them in two totally different ways. He owned the field at Charlotte during Memorial Day weekend, when he led a NASCAR-record 588 of the 600 miles.

Kevin Harvick owned the field at Darlington, but pit-road follies thwarted his route to Victory Lane. Instead of leading 98 percent of the miles, Truex led just 7.6 percent Sunday night.

Truex and his team won't let themselves think they have had a great season. This isn't the time to get complacent. This is the time to get focused on bringing their best to the Chase.

"It's got potential to be a really great season," Truex said. "I think that based on the team we have and the way we've been running, we could honestly be sitting here with seven, eight, nine wins if things had gone a little different here and there.

"But with that being said, we've got two, and I really feel like we've got a legitimate shot at this championship. It's been a good season, but it definitely could be a great season, and until Homestead is done and gone, we won't know."

Truex isn't lying when he said he could have won several races this year. He has led 1,041 laps this year. Last year, he led 567. In his first year at Furniture Row Racing in 2014, he led one lap.

The difference? The team would point to the switch from Chevrolet to Toyota, where he has a tight alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing. The victory was the 12th for Toyota this year in 25 Cup races.