Dover preview: Martin Truex Jr. on the cusp of winning

The frustration was palpable. And also more than understandable.

For the second points race in a row, Martin Truex Jr. seemed certain to end up in the winner’s circle. Instead fate cruelly intervened. And with it, his nearly two-year winless streak extended to 68 races last Sunday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“I thought we had it. Damn it. Damn it,” Truex radioed to his Furniture Row Racing team at the conclusion.

Truex’s most recent bid for victory came undone when the Coca-Cola 600 was decided on fuel mileage. Carl Edwards gambled he could make the final 62 laps without pitting. Meanwhile Truex, who led a race-high 131 laps, stopped and never recaptured the lead. Edwards made it to the finish, Truex placed fifth.

Charlotte followed a similarly painful tale that unfolded May 9 at Kansas Speedway. In that race Truex, who again led the most laps, was running second and posting faster lap times than leader Kevin Harvick when a caution waved 11 laps from the finish.

Crew chief Cole Pearn called Truex to pit road, but elected to go with a fuel-only stop. That decision proved to be a mistake. On older tires Truex slid back to finish ninth.

“It is a little bit frustrating because doing this as long as I have, you understand how hard it is to put yourself in those positions,” Truex said Friday at Dover International Speedway. “You never know when your next opportunity is going to come.

“But at the same time, for us, to come from where we did last year to be in those positions to just to be running the way we are ... to lead the most laps and really again be the car to beat it was an amazing feeling for me. I can’t tell you the confidence it gave me after the race.”

If Truex sounds pragmatic, it’s because while losing and near-misses hurt, the situation could be far worse. He could, after all, be experiencing a replay of 2014.

All of last season, his first with Furniture Row, Truex never once came close to winning. On the year he led just a single lap. And more often than not, he lagged. The lack of competitiveness eventually was traced to how the team constructed its cars. New chassis were built and Truex showed improvement late, especially when Pearn was elevated from engineer to crew chief.

Nevertheless, there was no way to view last season as anything other than an unmitigated disaster. The team had earned a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup the season before with driver Kurt Busch, while Truex had won a race but still missed the playoffs due to a penalty imposed on his then-team, Michael Waltrip Racing,

But as bad as 2014 may have been, this season is on the other side of the performance spectrum. Through 12 races, just once has Truex finished outside the top 10. He’s also led 258 laps and sits second in points heading into Sunday’s FedEx 400, and he’s dramatically lowered his average finish by nearly 12 positions.

The only thing Truex and the No. 78 team haven’t done yet is win, which makes the past two points races all the more maddening.

“For us, it’s important to not lose focus of what we have been able to accomplish so far, what this team is capable of and to just try to keep learning and getting better,” Truex said, “so we can close the deal and win some races and hopefully at the end of the year be fighting for a championship.”

The victory Truex seeks has a good chance of occurring Sunday. Dover is where he won his first career race in 2007 and a track where he’s always been strong. Even amidst the struggles last year, Truex scored finishes of sixth and seventh there. In qualifying Friday, he posted the second-fastest speed.

“I have so much confidence in my team and the cars we have and the job that my team is doing,” Truex said. “It’s just fun to come to the track with the confidence and with optimism about what we are going to do. I’m looking forward to the weekend it should be a good one.”

Truex’s connection with the one-mile concrete oval goes beyond it just being the site of his lone speedway victory. (His other series win came on the Sonoma road course.) Having been born 132 miles away in Mayetta, N.J., Dover represents Truex’s home track.

“It’s great to be here, it always is,” Truex said. “I really enjoy coming up to this area.

“Obviously, I really enjoy running this race track. It’s been a good few weeks for us; it’s been a good season for us. Hopefully we can continue that here this weekend.”

Buoying Truex’s confidence further is the chassis he has underneath him, which is the same he raced so well with at Kansas and Charlotte. But to get that car to Dover required monumental extra effort by the No. 78 crew.

Unlike the vast majority of organizations, Furniture Row’s base is in Denver, well outside the NASCAR hub of Charlotte, N.C. So when Pearn, spurred by Truex’s success in consecutive races, made the call to use the car, it meant the team would have to turn around the chassis in less than 24 hours. But with equipment their driver loved and his best and favorite track forthcoming, everyone went all-in.

The team’s transporter arrived back in Denver from Charlotte 2 a.m. Tuesday morning. Refurbishing work began immediately, as the hauler needed to depart at 10:30 p.m. that same day.

“It’s just awesome to see the effort put in,” Truex said. “I think everybody is just really excited about how we have been running. I feel like everybody on the team can just taste that victory and is willing to really put it on the line and work extra hard and do whatever it takes to get over that hump.”