Truex Comes Home 11th in Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. February 15, 2009: Martin Truex Jr. finished 11th in Sunday’s rain-shortened Daytona 500, a career-best finish for the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates driver in The Great American Race.

Truex started the event on the pole, but his No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet developed handling issues and began to fall back in the field. The Mayetta, New Jersey native dropped as far back as the 34th position in the early going. Crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion called for a number of changes over the course of the event, and the car began to respond as rain threatened.

Truex had worked his way back into the 10th position when a two-car accident involving teammate Aric Almirola occurred on lap 146, bringing out the caution flag for the eighth time in the event. NASCAR officials ruled that Kurt Busch had passed Truex before the yellow flag appeared, so Truex was posted in the 11th position.

Rain began to fall shortly after and the red flag was shown on lap 152, halting the race. NASCAR declared the race official at 6:49 p.m. ET.

EGRFS Quoteboard:

“My No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet did not handle well in the beginning. We adjusted on it during the pit stops and it came to life once the sun went down. After the last stop we were making a run toward the front. Finishing in 11th is not a top-10, but to come out of Daytona in one piece is just as good.”