NASCAR Cup Series

Ryan Truex takes next step in NASCAR career

Published Oct. 1, 2010 6:35 p.m. ET

foxsports

For Ryan Truex, it will be game on this weekend at Kansas Speedway.

The two-time NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion and 18-year-old brother of Sprint Cup Series star Martin Truex Jr. is hoping to take sibling rivalry to the next level. The brothers Truex will go toe-to-toe in Saturday’s Nationwide Series race behind the wheels of the Nos. 00 and 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyotas.

“It’s really awesome to be racing against him,” Ryan Truex said. “Neither one of us expected to be racing against each other this soon. But when Trevor (Bayne) and Diamond Waltrip Racing parted ways it opened up a seat and it gave me a chance to do it. I met with the people from OUT! Pet Care and they were all about it.

“I’m pretty excited not only to race but to get the opportunity to get into the No. 99 car. They’ve been running really good lately. It will be cool to get in there. I know they have momentum on their side and hopefully (I can) give them another good run.”

As first reported by FOXSports.com, Bayne made it public he was parting ways with Diamond Waltrip last Friday, and this Thursday Bayne announced he was joining Roush Fenway Racing. Given Bayne’s success with the No. 99 Toyota — he earned three poles, three top-fives and seven top 10 finishes in his last 10 starts — Truex can’t wait to start the next chapter.

“I’m really excited — I didn’t expect this to come this quick,” Truex said. “I knew we were going to run three more (Nationwide) races, but we weren’t really sure about the future. This gives me a few more races and opportunities to prove myself in the Nationwide Series and try to attract new sponsors. I can also prove to myself that I can do this. I certainly have the team to do it but the pressure is on me to perform.

“I’m looking forward to working with the team and Jerry (Baxter, crew chief). I tested with him and Trevor. He seems like he would be easy to get along with. He seems like a pretty good guy. We’ll just have to get together this weekend, make sure we’re on the same page — so I can understand what he’s saying and (he can understand what I'm saying). But I’m sure we’ll be able to adapt to each other pretty quick.”

In his first three Nationwide starts, Truex's best finish effort came in the Michigan race in August where he qualified second and finished 12th. While he relied on Bayne in his first three races, he feels comforted knowing his brother will be there this weekend to help get over the hurdles of a new racetrack.

“I’m still looking to learn from him and there’s no better place to learn from him than on the racetrack,” Truex said. “I’m sure he’ll be helping me this weekend, but he’s got a good chance to win. He’s really good in a Nationwide car and MWR has a really good Nationwide program. He’ll probably win in the car that I was going to race in. Now that might make me jealous, but it would make me happy to see him in Victory Lane again. I will definitely learn a lot from him this weekend and have a lot of fun doing it.”

While Truex isn't sure what his future holds beyond this season, his brother can help him avoid the potential landmines off the track. On the track, Ryan, who is 11 years Martin’s junior, has beat his brother racing on computer games, but he realizes the disadvantages. While Ryan is making his fourth NNS start, Martin has won two Nationwide (then Busch) Series titles and 13 races.

Still, Martin has supported his younger brother both financially and on the pit box, so he knows what to expect.

“I’ve watched him race many times and I think I’ll like it better racing against him because I get really nervous watching him race,” Martin Truex Jr., said. “I guess it’s a big brother thing. With the age difference, I pretty much had already moved out when he considered racing. We didn’t get to spend a lot of time together growing up. The last year or two, we’ve gotten a lot closer. When he comes (to Charlotte) to prepare for a race or come to a race, he stays with me.

“It’s been a lot of fun for me to be a part of his racing career. I’ve even owned some of his cars so to see his progression has been rewarding for me as an older brother. It seems like every kind of car he gets in, he’s impressive from the get go. Now, we finally get to race together so it’s going to mean a lot to me.”

Raising awareness

Martin Truex Jr. and NAPA Auto Parts will raise awareness for Susan G. Komen for the Cure in the Sprint Cup race this weekend by running the first of two No. 56 NAPA All Out for the Cure Toyotas at Kansas Speedway.

Fans can honor people who have been affected by breast cancer by making a donation to The Cure through the NAPA Know How Facebook page at www.facebook.com/napaknowhow. The names of those honored will appear on the No. 56 NAPA Signature Toyota will race at the Nov. 7 AAA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Bowyer throws in the towel

For Clint Bowyer, coming home usually means working on dirt cars and racing in front of friends and family at Kansas Speedway.

This week, the Emporia, Kan., native finds himself answering questions regarding the anticipated loss of the appeal that team owner Richard Childress waged against NASCAR after the No. 33 Chevrolet was deemed illegal at New Hampshire in postrace inspection.

“I’m very disappointed, not surprised at all,” Bowyer said of the National Stock Car Racing Commission's denial of the appeal. “I’ll just leave it at that. I’m looking forward to getting that behind me. This is an important weekend.

“I made some mistakes on the track last week (at Dover) that were uncharacteristic of myself, we made some mistakes as a team that were uncharacteristic and our heads weren’t 100 percent in the game. I don’t want this mess to bother us anymore. I’m at my home track, I’m having fun and that’s what I aim to do.”

After enjoying the ultimate high of qualifying for the final position in the Chase for the Sprint Cup at Richmond and winning the Chase kick-off race at New Hampshire the following week, Bowyer has faced the reality that any aspirations of winning the title ended at the NASCAR Research and Development center. Bowyer acknowledged the experience “sucks.”

“That’s an emotional rollercoaster that nobody wants to ride, trust me,” Bowyer said.

With the win, Bowyer was in second in the point standings, 35 points behind leader Denny Hamlin. Then the sanctioning body assessed its 150-point penalty on Sept. 22. Now, Bowyer finds himself in the Chase cellar, 235 points outside of first place.

“No, I think the championship hopes are done for myself,” Bowyer said. “The thing that I have to do is be the best teammate I can be. We have to bring a championship home.

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