Good finishes for Truex keep team morale at peak

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Like a surfer waiting for that one big wave, you have to be ready to ride momentum, because it can show up when you least expect it.

Martin Truex Jr. has the momentum. Now he's hoping to ride it as far as he can.

Including his victory five weeks ago, Truex has posted four consecutive top-three finishes on ovals, placing him solidly in the top 10 in the current Nextel Cup standings.

"You see it just in the way the team morale is around the shop," Truex said Thursday during practice for this weekend's Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway. "Everybody's excited, everybody's always pumped up, looking forward to the next thing, the next challenge. It's been a lot of fun."

There was never any doubt that Truex, a two-time Busch Series champion, had the talent to compete at NASCAR's highest level. But until his victory at Dover, many wondered if he could win a Nextel Cup race.

"I think the biggest thing [a win] does for you is it gets rid of all the doubt that anyone's ever had," said Truex, who was 12th and 11th in Thursday's practices. "You don't have to worry about that anymore. You know you can win. You just have to figure out how you're going to do it again."

Truex credits crew chief Kevin "Bono" Manion for keeping an even keel when others might have panicked.

"It was a pretty big transition for us, when we went from the Busch Series to the Cup Series," Truex said. "Quite honestly, it just took a little longer than we thought it would to get our feet wet and find our way.

"I never doubted Bono for a second and I think he felt the same way. ... We've just been taking it one step at a time. We've always had that confidence that we could get it done together. It was definitely a lot sweeter when it did happen."

Truex said once the pressure of winning for the first time is off, it's easier to concentrate on the things that put you in that situation.

"Once you get one, you want more, obviously," he said. "You know how to do it, you've been there, you've done it before.

"Everybody on the race team, their confidence is up, knowing that they can get it done, do the job as good as anybody out there, and that goes a long way."

That increased confidence is definitely paying off for the No. 1 Chevrolet team.

"It just feels good that we're performing the way we should," Truex said. "That's the bottom line. We know we've got the stuff it takes to make the Chase.

"If we keep doing what we've been doing, we'll be right there for the championship. It's real exciting and a lot of fun right now. I'm having a blast coming to the racetrack every weekend. Once you get on a roll, man, it just keeps coming. You keep running good and everybody's having fun and it just gets so much easier."

Still, Truex realizes momentum can disappear just as quickly.

"This is the Nextel Cup Series," he said. "You ain't going to finish second or third every weekend or win. Everybody out here has bad weekends and we realize that."