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Martin Truex Jr.

Martin Truex Jr. looking for sweep at 'Tricky Triangle'

Mike Hembree
Special for USA TODAY Sports
Martin Truex Jr. led 97 of 160 laps to win the June race at Pocono Raceway.

LONG POND, Pa. — Martin Truex Jr. hopes to make Pocono Two as productive as Pocono One.

After scoring 12 top-10 finishes in the first 13 races of the Sprint Cup season without notching a victory, Truex finally scored in race 14 June 7 at Pocono Raceway to snap a 69-race winless streak that dated back to a June 2013 race on the road course at Sonoma Raceway.

Two months later, Truex is looking to become the second driver in two years to sweep the "Tricky Triangle" after Dale Earnhardt Jr. took both Pocono races in 2014. Truex will go for seasonal win No. 2 in Sunday’s Windows 10 400.

Since the Pocono victory, his fortunes have declined. Accidents at Sonoma and Daytona International Speedway left him with finishes of 42nd and 38th, and he dropped from second in points to fifth.

“We are obviously looking for more speed just like everybody is,” Truex said. “I think everybody is stepping up their program as the season goes on and we are trying to do the same thing.  We brought a new car here. Trying to be better than last time, and hopefully it will play out.”

Truex still holds a ticket to the Chase, however, and says the next few weeks will be about solidifying the foundation that has the Furniture Row Racing team eyeing a decent shot at its first championship.

“Obviously, we have that bit of a safety net, so to speak,” he said. “I think we can tend to take chances a little bit more. But we are still here to win and get the best finish we can for everyone.”

The June win here was no fluke. Truex had had solid cars all season, and he breezed to victory lane, leading 97 of 160 laps and outrunning second-place Kevin Harvick by 1.34 seconds.

“You definitely feel a little more pressure just because we were so good here last time, that you don’t want to screw it up,” Truex said. “But at the same time, again, the track is a little bit different and everybody is getting better."

No one more so than Kyle Busch, winner of the past three races and four of the past five and seemingly as close to invincible as one can be in this sport in this time.

“I think the (Joe) Gibbs (Racing) cars have proven that in a couple of weeks’ time you can make some really big gains," Truex said. "I think those guys are really the cars to beat right now. We’ve got to continue to work hard and try to get our stuff better and try to again get up front and start leading laps again and put ourselves in position to win again.”

PHOTOS: Behind the wheel with Martin Truex Jr.

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