NASCAR At Watkins Glen: Lack Of Spotlight Doesn’t Bother Martin Truex Jr.

On the strength of five top-fives and 11 top-10s, Martin Truex Jr. sits fifth overall in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings. But even in the midst of the best year of his career, the spotlight continues to be elusvie the Michael Waltrip Racing driver.

For instance, despite finishing third last week at Pocono, Truex was never interviewed by ESPN after the race. This was unusual, as the network customarily interviews the top three finishers immediately afterward (though the frightening rainstorm may have had something to do with the omission).

This slight did not go unnoticed, as Truex retweeted four comments posted on his Twitter feed, all referencing ESPN’s lack of interview. “It’s all good,” he tweeted a few minutes later.

“I don’t like interviews that much anyway,” Truex added. “We’ll do it in Vegas when it counts.”

On Friday at Watkins Glen, Truex addressed further whether he feels he’s getting the attention he deserves and if he’s OK flying underneath the radar.

“Honestly, either way it really doesn’t matter,” he said. “I’m paid to go out there and do a job and I feel like I’m doing that as well as I can possibly do that right now. For me, that’s enough. I really don’t need to read my name in print or be in the headlines; that’s not what I’m here for.

“I’m here to do my job, have fun doing it, work with my guys and be part of a team.”

Truex praised his team and said it’s done a “fabulous job” of taking the program to a more competitive level. At the same time, he said he’s felt like a better leader for the team.

There is one person who is paying close attention to what Truex is doing in 2012: Team owner Michael Waltrip. The two sides are “very, very close” to signing a contract extension that will keep Truex with the team, the driver said.

According to Truex, the deal is “basically done” and could be announced in the next couple weeks.