NASCAR: Five Drivers Set To Break Out In 2016
By Cole Mentzel
Nov 22, 2015; Homestead, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr. during the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Martin Truex Jr.
2015 Season:
- Laps led: 567
- Top-5’s: 8 (1 win)
- Top-10’s: 22
- Average finish: 12.2
You could argue that Martin Truex Jr. had his breakout season in 2015, but I believe that was just the beginning. He can and will get better even though he is in a different situation at the age of 35.
As the lone member of Furniture Row Racing, Truex came into 2015 with only 2 wins in the Sprint Cup Series. A few races into the season, it was obvious that there was something different about him and his team. They had recorded 7-straight top-10 finishes and Truex was finding ways to lead laps.
Then just a few races later, he hit the peak stretch of his season. Leading a total of 454 laps in just 4 weeks (Kansas, Charlotte, Dover, Pocono), he finished 9th, 5th, 6th and 1st respectively, and earned his first win since 2013 at Sonoma. He continued his great season by running through the Chase and making it to the Championship race at Homestead before finishing 12th after an inconsistent day.
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2015 was the start of something great for Truex. He proved that a one-car team can thrive and showed that he was not done yet. Next year, he will be in the thick of things yet again and should be in position to pick up multiple wins. Momentum is on his side and 2016 could show us the best Martin Truex Jr. we have ever seen.