DAYTONA BEACH, fla. —
Saturday was more of a business day than a racing day. We made a decision Friday that we would not practice Saturday, and spend the time to put the final touches on our Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota.
A number of teams felt the same way, and none of us wanted to take any chance of wrecking our cars before the Daytona 500 on Sunday.
By not practicing Saturday, it didn’t mean that we weren’t in race mode. Crew chief Cole Pearn and our engineers have been going over data and putting together race strategy for Sunday. They also have had discussions with members of Joe Gibbs Racing, our new technical alliance partner and Toyota teammate.
We drafted with the Gibbs car Friday and had a strong showing. It would be nice to hook up with them for the 500 and be separated up front from the pack. But at superspeedways, things don’t always work out the way you would like. And when the race gets near the end, you probably will have to call a few audibles.
The worst fear in the closing laps is to lose your drafting partner and get hung out to dry. If that’s the case, you can go from the front to the back in a short period of time. It’s a chess game — and hopefully you make all the right moves.
But with this being my 12th Daytona 500 and 21st Sprint Cup race at Daytona International Speedway, I’m not going to get too wound up about the different possibilities that could happen. I need to be fresh and focused in the race car so I can make the right decisions when we have to do it.
Saturday also was a day for a couple of sponsor appearances. I met with a delegation of Bass Pro Shops employees who won a trip to Daytona. I also met with executives from Toyota. We are fortunate to have a partnership with these two successful and high-profile companies.
I also need to mention how proud I am of my younger brother Ryan, who finished second in the truck race at Daytona on Friday night. He gave it all and never gave up. Finishing second was awesome for his first race of the season.
The entire Truex family was proud of his effort. It will be my turn Sunday to fight as hard as he did.
Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr., driver of Denver’s No. 78 car, is keeping a daily diary for The Post through the Daytona 500 on Sunday.