When you ask Martin Truex Jr. how his relationship is going with Bristol Motor Speedway, you get an odd look, a smile and finally a chuckle. Admittedly, the relationship needs a little work.
In 34 Cup Series starts at Bristol he’s managed to salvage just three top five finishes, and only five top 10s. When you look at his performance at other tracks it is well above average. For some reason he and Bristol just don’t get along.
“It’s never been my best track,” Truex Jr. said recently. “I don’t go there beaming with confidence, but over the years I’ve had a few opportunities.”
The driver of the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops machine will head to the .533-mile all-concrete, high-banked bullring for the final time as a full-time Cup competitor on Sept. 19 for the crown jewel Bass Pro Shops Night Race. As it stands today, he is in the Round of 16 Playoffs on points. That race is the cut-off race for the opening round of Playoffs and only 12 of the 16 championship drivers will advance to the next round.
He would like nothing more than to grab a Playoff victory in front of his sponsor Bass Pro Shops at their title race in pursuit of his second NASCAR Cup championship at the ultra-challenging Bristol Motor Speedway, and finally conquer The World’s Fastest Half-Mile.
When you say it like that it sounds like the ending to a fairy tale.
Truex has seen BMS’s unique Victory Lane high atop the Ballad Health Care Center, just not from inside a Cup car. He won an Xfinity Series race at Bristol in 2004 and also claimed a Craftsman Truck Series victory on the Bristol dirt in 2021. He nearly grabbed that first Cup victory this past March, on St. Patrick’s Day, but Denny Hamlin got in the way at the end.
“We were so close there in the spring, I feel like, and I could taste it,” Truex said. “…Yeah, I guess this tire management thing fit into my wheelhouse.
“Man, the difference was just coming out of the pits so far behind Denny. I had to use mine up more on the last run. The last four, five laps of the race, was cord. (But) I gave it a hell of an effort.”
Should Truex get that Cup win next month he would join an elite list of drivers who have conquered Bristol in all three of NASCAR’s top touring circuits. Those drivers include Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick.
“Man, it would be so awesome,” Truex said. “It would be incredible. Yeah, we’ve not had much luck there, but we’ve been getting better at it, I feel like, and in the spring, we ran really strong. It’s going to be a whole new tire situation and everything. Hopefully, we can go there and have a chance. It would be a cool race to win.”
Win or not, after this season Truex plans to set sail in a large body of water somewhere on the planet and throw out his fishing rod. That’s his ultimate happy place.
“Enjoy life, race a little for fun—I’m not sure exactly yet,” Truex said. “I’m still trying to figure things out.”
A full-feature story on Truex's final visit to Bristol penned by veteran racing journalist Reid Spencer will be included in the souvenir program for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. The program, in Playbill format, will be available in both print and digital versions.
The weekend begins with Ben Rhodes and defending winner Corey Heim battling for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory Thursday night in the UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics (Sept. 19, 8 p.m., FS1, MRN Radio). The rising stars in the ARCA Menards Series, including rising stars William Sawalich and Connor Zilisch and former IndyCar racer Marco Andretti, also will take on the challenging half-mile bullring in the Bush’s Beans 200 as part of a titan Thursday night doubleheader (Sept. 19, 5 p.m., FS1, MRN Radio).
On Friday, Sparks are sure to fly in the Food City 300, as NASCAR Xfinity Series favorites Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, Cole Custer, Sheldon Creed and Riley Herbst will be fighting hard in the Xfinity Series regular season finale (Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m., The CW, PRN Radio). Also, remember, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is also going to make his Bristol return at the Food City 300 driving the blue and yellow No. 88 Hellmann’s Chevy.
Finally, the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series will take to the track on Saturday for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race (Sept. 21, 7:30 p.m., USA Network, PRN Radio), you’ll get to see all of your favorite drivers like Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin to name a few, racing hard in the Round of 16 to advance in the first elimination race of the Playoffs.
To purchase tickets, please visit www.bristolmotorspeedway.com or call the BMS Ticket Sales Center at (866) 415-4158. Fans can also purchase tickets at any Food City location through Sept. 13.
