By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Kyle Busch may have had the quick car Sunday at ISM Raceway, but it was Martin Tuex Jr. who made the most ground late in the Ticket Guardian 500.
With fuel a common concern throughout the frontrunners, Truex’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was on rails, passing four cars in the final 40 laps to jump to second spot. In the meantime, nearly seven seconds was gained on leader Busch.
However, like Round 2 in Atlanta, Truex’s late surge came up short, giving the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion another second-place finish.
“A great day for us here at Phoenix which is not one of our greatest tracks,” Truex said. “The car was really fast there at the end. Everybody at JGR and TRD are really doing a good job. We’re starting to click.”
Conserving fuel early gave Truex the ability to go all-out for what would have been his first win at ISM and with JGR.
“We did save quite a bit there,” he said. “We’re a little bit off on Fridays and that’s getting us behind, but I feel each weekend, we’re getting a little strong and a little stronger.”
Truex enters Auto Club Speedway, the last leg of the West Coast Swing, fifth in points.
“Two second places is pretty decent,” he said. “We’ll just keep chipping away at it. Had a fun day today and congrats to Kyle (Busch) and those guys.
“I’m looking forward to going to one of our favorite tracks next weekend in California and seeing if we can go back to back.”