DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — We had a change of plans late Thursday night following the qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway. The initial plan was not to practice Friday, but since we all felt the car needed a little more speed we decided to take part in Friday’s first practice session.
Looking back, it was a good decision. Our crew chief, Cole Pearn, wanted to test some ideas, and it seemed to work. The car felt a little faster, but we’ll get a much better feel when we run with a pack of cars during Saturday’s final practice for Sunday’s Daytona 500.
What I like about this team is that even though we ran fairly well in Thursday night’s qualifier by finishing fifth and contending for the majority of the race, we didn’t high-five each other. Instead, we talked about what we needed to do to get better. In order to have a successful race team, you have to start with good, honest communications. And I am happy to say we have that with our Furniture Row Racing team.
We did skip the second practice Friday because we were comfortable with what we learned in the morning session. After practice the team put in the 500 motor.
I think we ran 10 laps in Friday’s practice and, our Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet posted the third-best speed. So that was a good indicator about gaining more power. You come down here for nearly two weeks and don’t want to leave any stone unturned. One little hiccup at this superspeedway could make the difference of being a Daytona 500 winner with your name and team etched in history or having a middle-of-the-pack finish. There’s no room for error.
Another positive sign — maybe a little far-fetched — is that I finished second early Friday morning in a charity fishing contest at the track. The fishing team I was with caught two bass, that’s two more than the teams I was paired with the past two years. It appeared we caught two more fish but unfortunately lost them. Finishing second was good, but if it’s racing or fishing I am not happy with that runner-up result. It’s all about winning when I compete. Wasn’t the Oakland Raiders motto “Just Win Baby”? That will be our motto too for NASCAR’s biggest race.
The charity fishing tournament was for the Darrell Gwynn Foundation, whose mission is to provide support for people living with paralysis and prevent spinal-cord injuries. Darrell, a former top fuel dragster racer, is a classy person, and I was proud to be part of his event. It really felt good to kick back and discuss something other than racing.
Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr., driver of Denver’s No. 78 Chevrolet, is keeping a daily diary for The Denver Post through Sunday’s Daytona 500.
