Top 20 Countdown: No. 20 Martin Truex Jr
(Getty Images)
2009 statistics
Finish | Poles | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
23 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
The countdown
No. 20: Martin Truex Jr. | Career stats
No. 19: Revealed Jan. 12
Editor's note: Yahoo! Sports is counting down the top 20 drivers of the 2010 season. The order was determined by a survey, which asked five NASCAR journalists – Jay Busbee and Jay Hart (Yahoo! Sports); Jenna Fryer (Associated Press); Dustin Long (Landmark Newspapers); and Nate Ryan (USA Today) – to predict the final standings for the 2010 season. The countdown will conclude on Feb. 5 with the unveiling of the No. 1 driver.
2009 finish: 23rd
Our 2010 predictions:
• Jay Busbee: 20th
• Jay Hart: Not ranked in top 20
• Jenna Fryer: 19th
• Dustin Long: 17th
• Nate Ryan: 13th
2010 outlook: The fact that Truex signed with Michael Waltrip Racing is a huge boost to both MWR and NASCAR. Three years ago, MWR was on life support. Now, it's landed the biggest free agent of the 2009 class. And the move bodes well for NASCAR, too, because it's a second-tier driver going to a third-tier team. In other words, the poor actually got richer.
That said, expect this to be a transition year for Truex. Not only is he with a new team, but for the first time in his Cup career he'll have someone other than Kevin "Bono" Manion as his crew chief. After four years with Manion, Truex will now have Pat Tryson on the box.
Tryson is a proven signal caller; he helped Kurt Busch to a fourth-place finish in 2009. The question is how long will it take him and Truex to find their chemistry.
The good news is MWR appears to be a team on the rise. David Reutimann narrowly missed making the Chase a year ago. Now in Truex, Reutimann will have the benefit of a bona fide contender to swap notes with, and vice versa.
While Truex probably won't contend for a spot in the Chase, 2010 should set him and Tryson up to make a playoff run in 2011.
What you need to know: Truex is coming off the worst season of his four-year Cup career. He only had one top-five finish (which came in the penultimate race of the season at Phoenix), was docked points twice (both times for failing post-race inspection) and finished outside the top 20 for the first time. The positive is three of his six top 10s came in the season's final six races.
