Joe Gibbs Racing superstar is one of the strongest drivers who hasn’t yet fixed a spot in the 2024 playoffs. With just eleven races remaining in the regular season, his best chance to do so comes this Sunday at the Sonoma Raceway. Winning at the road course will mean he matches Jeff Gordon’s track record of five wins along with ensuring a seat in the postseason.
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Truex Jr. has four victories at Sonoma over 17 Cup Series starts. His most recent victory came last year when he led 51 laps en route to the victory lane. He also has six top-5s, seven top-10s, and an average finish of 16.7. He currently sits fourth in the driver points table 44 points behind leader Denny Hamlin. Away from Sonoma, he has one other road course win which came at Watkins Glen International (2017).
Opening odds of 11-2 place Truex Jr. as the favorite to emerge as the winner on Sunday, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. It is up to the former Cup Series champion to live up to these huge expectations. With the numbers in his favor, proper execution could lead to him matching Gordon as the most successful driver at Sonoma.
Interestingly, his teammates Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell are expected to give him a tough time during the race. They stand next to him as favorites with opening odds of 15-2. Gibbs has more reason to halt Truex Jr.’s chances of victory for he hasn’t secured a spot in the playoffs yet either. Sunday could very well come down to a battle between teammates.
Martin Truex Jr. hopes that the new repave at Sonoma doesn’t hurt his chances of success
The Sonoma Raceway was repaved over the offseason after 23 years. The freshness brings forward new challenges that Truex Jr. would not have encountered in his previous appearances. He said in a recent press conference, “It’s a lot different with the repave, but I’m hoping it’s our normal deal out there and we have a chance to win again.”
He continued about how his previous success might not necessarily follow through, “The old pavement and the tire wear was part of the magic that we’ve found and I felt comfortable with, so this is a whole new ballgame with the new pavement. It’s essentially no tire falloff now, at least at the test, so we will have to approach it a little bit differently.” Should Truex Jr. find the victory lane again, it’ll be the first time he wins five races at a track.
