Martin Truex Jr. and crew chief Pat Tryson fought through a variety of challenges for much of the Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, but the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota team finally put the pieces into place over the closing 20 laps for its third top-10 finish of the season. Following the race, Tryson received the NASCAR® MOOG® “Problem Solver of the Race” Award from MOOG chassis parts manufacturer
The MOOG Problem Solver Award is presented following each Sprint Cup event to the crew chief whose car posts the largest increase in average lap speed from the first half to the second half of the race while finishing on the lead lap. The No. 56 Toyota, which started the rain-delayed event in 14th place and dropped as low as 33rd after having to make an unscheduled early pit stop due to a loose lug nut, picked up a race-best 0.035-second per lap at Texas.
The No. 56 Toyota battled early handling issues until Tryson and crew tweaked the car’s chassis – featuring precision-engineered MOOG components – to address changing track conditions. Truex used the car’s dramatically improved handling to avoid what appeared to be an inevitable collision with Sam Hornish Jr.’s spinning No. 77 Dodge on lap 110, then drove around a nine-car pile-up with just 17 laps remaining.
That late wreck pulled the No. 56 car back onto the lead lap, and Truex was able to outmaneuver several competitors to secure a solid ninth-place finish.
“This is Martin and Pat’s first year together, but they’ve run strong in several races so far,” says Federal-Mogul Motorsports Director Tim Nelson. “Today they showed they could battle through early issues and unpredictable conditions to stay within striking distance of the top 10. And then Martin closed the deal with an impressive run to the finish.”
For additional information, visit www.moogproblemsolver.com.
