1. Is it time for the pairing of Martin Truex Jr. and James Small to split?
Since 2020, Martin Truex Jr. has been trying to capture the week-in, week-out dominance that he had until crew chief Cole Pearn abruptly retired at the end of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Truex won one race in 2020 and followed it up with four wins and a runner-up points finish in 2021. However, that was followed by a disastrous 2022 that saw him miss the playoffs and go winless for the first time since 2014.
Pit strategy was an Achilles heel at times last year, mostly notably at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where a two-tire stop with 95 laps to go (the top three finishers all took four) foiled a potential win after Truex had led 172 of the first 206 laps.
Strategy woes were present once again at Richmond Raceway last Sunday (April 2). Truex was battling for the lead with William Byron when a caution came out for Tyler Reddick with 28 laps to go. That forced Truex to put on used tires for the final green-flag run, as the No. 19 team had elected use an extra set of tires earlier in the race.
With the tire disadvantage, Truex faded to 11th by lap 400.
Upon reviewing the team’s radio communication, Truex was not even told by crew chief James Small that he was on older tires than the rest of the field until after the race was over.
Yes, a strategy will sometimes go wrong. But with a driver the caliber of Truex, he should’ve at least been told about the tire disadvantage before the restart; his mind then would’ve turned to defense, and he may have been able to save a few positions on the track.
The nightmare ending to Richmond further compounded a frustrating start to the season for Truex. Even with a win in the exhibition race at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, he has just one top-10 finish through the first seven races.
And after missing the playoffs last year and a slow start this year, it is time for a crew shakeup for the No. 19 team. This has been the fourth year since Small took over, and the team’s successful 2021 season is looking more and more like a distant…
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