Truex keeps eye on future, not Chase snub

MARTIN TRUEX JR. has every right to be seething over NASCAR's decision to chase him from this year's Chase.

Following the shenanigans by Michael Waltrip Racing at Richmond to manipulate the finish in the final race before the Chase began, NASCAR replaced the MWR driver with Ryan Newman in the Chase. The sanctioning organization decided Truex benefited from a spin on the track by teammate Clint Bowyer with seven laps remaining. Newman was leading at the time; he finished third. Truex finished seventh, but originally made the Chase.

Before Sunday's race at Dover, Del., Truex said he has put the decision in his rearview mirror.

"I can't change it. You have to move forward," he said. "As a team, we have a lot of unfinished business. We've had an up-and-down season. We were hitting our stride as a team when that took the wind out of our sails."

Truex insisted his No. 56 Toyota team isn't using NASCAR's rejection as extra motivation.

"If you need any extra motivation, you probably don't belong in this sport," he said. "But maybe we have a little chip on our shoulders."

Truex led 98 laps in the second Chase at New Hampshire before finishing 10th. The Mayetta, N.J., native is looking forward to Sunday's race at Kansas, where, in the last three races, he has two second places and a fourth.

With NAPA withdrawing its sponsorship of Truex' team after this season as a result of the Richmond furor, his racing future is uncertain.

"The picture has cleared up a little since NAPA made the announcement," the 33-year-old racer said. "There's still a lot that I don't know. I've just got to figure it out. It's nice to know there's a really good option out there in the No. 78 car. If there were no cars available at this time, it would obviously be a whole lot tougher. Right now, I'm exploring all my options."

Kurt Busch will vacate the No. 78 ride of Furniture Row Racing to join Stewart-Haas Racing next year.

Before arriving in Dover, Truex helped dedicate the pediatric-care center named after him at the Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin, N.J. His foundation donated $250,000 for the center, where emergency care will be available 7 days a week.

"Seeing what the final product will be was very cool for all of us," Truex said. "It's beyond our wildest dreams how good it turned out. When it started, it was going to be two rooms; it ended up being six. In a lot of emergency rooms you have to wait a while. Here, kids will get treatment right away."

When our interview began in Truex' hauler at Dover, I thought I might need treatment. Instinctively, I reached out to shake his hand, forgetting about his fractured right wrist. I could see headline: "Philly sports writer ruins career of NASCAR driver." Truex was very gracious and resisted the temptation to whack me in the forehead with the cast.

Unlike Truex, Kyle Busch doesn't consider Kansas Speedway among his favorite racetracks. Kansas is one of six tracks where Busch hasn't won a Cup race. In 12 starts, he has no top-five finishes. His best finish was seventh in 2006.

The good news for Busch is, he's off to a good start in the Chase with two runner-up finishes and a fifth at Dover. He is 12 points, in third place, behind leader Matt Kenseth.

Assessing his Chase chances, Busch said on a Tuesday conference call, "We're going to have to win some races. There's no doubt about that. We see the two championship contenders we're going to be racing with throughout the rest of the year; they've won the first three races."

Matt Kenseth won the first two Chase races, and Jimmie Johnson won last week at Dover.

"It's a matter of continuing to knock out these top-fives and when our wins come to us, hopefully they do, those will be the bonus points and those will be the extra points we need to get ourselves further up the ladder," Busch said.

As expected, Pocono Raceway will continue its traditional early June and early August Sprint Cup race dates next year. The races will be June 8 and Aug. 3. Pocono also will host an IndyCar series race July 6. IndyCar returned to Pocono last July for the first time since 1989.

Dover International Speedway also will have its normal Cup race dates, on June 1 and Sept. 28.

Hollywood Casino 400

Kansas Speedway,  Kansas City, Kan.

When: Sunday, 2 p.m.

TV/Radio: ESPN/WNPV (1440-AM)

Course: 1.5-mile oval

Distance: 400 miles/267 laps

Forecast: partly sunny, high 50s

Last year's winner: Matt Kenseth

Last year's pole: Kasey Kahne, 191.360 mph

Track qualifying record: Kenseth, 191.864 mph (April 2013)

Track facts: Kenseth has won the last two Kansas races. . . . Kansas is a track where non-Chasers have won: Joe Nemechek in 2004, Tony Stewart in '06 and Greg Biffle in '07 . . . Nationwide Series driver Nelson Piquet Jr. was fined $10,000, ordered to participate in sensitivity training and placed on indefinite probation for violating NASCAR's Code of Conduct policy. Piquet posted a gay slur about fellow driver Parker Kligerman on Instagram. Evidently, Piquet meant it as a joke; no one at NASCAR laughed . . . Penske Racing reached extensions with driver Brad Keselowski and sponsor Miller Lite through the 2017 season.

Wins: Matt Kenseth, 7; Jimmie Johnson, 5; Kyle Busch, 4 each; Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards, 2 each; David Ragan, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Martin Truex Jr., Brian Vickers, Ryan Newman, Joey Logano, 1 each.

Standings

1. Matt Kenseth. . . 2,149

2. Jimmie Johnson. . . 2,141

3. Kyle Busch. . . 2,137

4. Kevin Harvick. . . 2,110

5. Jeff Gordon. . . 2,110

6. Greg Biffle. . . 2,108

7. Ryan Newman. . . 2,101

8. Clint Bowyer. . . 2,098

9. Kurt Busch. . . 2,094

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.. . . 2,092

11. Carl Edwards. . . 2,084

12. Joey Logano. . . 2,083

13. Kasey Kahne. . . 2,071

Up next: Bank of America 500, Oct. 12, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C., 7:30 p.m.; TV: 6ABC; last year's winner: Clint Bowyer.