Martin Truex Jr. on massive turnaround from last season: 'I'm mad'

Martin Truex Jr. sits atop the NASCAR Cup Series points standings through 20 races — one year removed from going winless and missing out on the postseason.

The 2017 Cup Series champion crossed the checkered line first in Monday’s Crayon 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to score his third victory of the season. Truex Jr. won in dominating fashion, leading 254 laps, including 163 of the opening 185 laps.

The 43-year-old’s reemergence goes back to an offseason in which he was “mad,” and had a lot of fire in him to correct what went wrong in 2022. It all started with a win in the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum in February.

.@MartinTruex_Jr has been feeling it this year. 😤

It all started back in Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/B7bDXggEd1

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 18, 2023

“The Clash, amazingly enough — winning that thing was a big confidence deal,” team owner Joe Gibbs said after Monday’s race.

Boost Truex Jr.’s confidence it did, even if it wasn’t an official points race.

“I’m mad,” Truex Jr. said after his win in The Clash. “Just have a lot of fire in my belly to go out and change what we did last year. It’s huge. I mean, It’s a huge confidence booster. It just reminds you that you’re doing the right stuff. We were probably the worst car here last year, literally, besides maybe the guys that didn’t have charters. It’s a big deal. Any of these races are hard to win. All of them are hard to win. Doesn’t matter if there’s points or not. So we’re proud of this one. It’s a big deal.”

Martin Truex Jr. chasing 2nd NASCAR Cup Series championship

Truex Jr. now finds himself primed to make a run for a second Cup Series championship, which would put him among the all-time greats as only 17 drivers have ever won multiple championships. He hopes to become No. 18 and add to his Hall of Fame resume.

“What we’ve been able to do here over the years was pretty remarkable, and to not win was really getting frustrating,” Truex Jr. said after the race. “[Crew chief] James [Small] and I have talked about it many times and talked with [teammate] Christopher [Bell] before the race, and he said, ‘You’ve led more laps here than I’ve even run here in the Cup Series.’

“Just really awesome job by everybody. What a race car we had here today. Just proud of the whole team. Pit stops were flawless. The car was unbelievable. We had some challenges throughout the race, and the car was a handful at times, but we put our heads down and just kept digging.”