DEI's other Junior now looking like No. 1 driver (cont'd)

Truex said that is what he has tried to do more than anything else -- despite the changes in circumstances, he has tried to remain the same guy.

"I didn't change a whole lot, really," Truex said. "It was a little bit of an eye-opening experience, how it all went down. I think overnight it instantly matured me a little bit, just thinking about all the things I'm going to have on my shoulders for the next however long it's going to be.

"I just did what I thought was right. I didn't go out and do or say anything that I wouldn't have ever done before. I just went out and tried to do my job better than I ever had. I think that's the only thing that changed. I think my focus became better than it had ever been."

Siegel said that he envisioned Chase-type success coming for the Truex team even before this season began.

"You know what? That team has been together for a while," Siegel said. "They came up together through the Busch Series. I've seen it all along. It's just with all the things that have happened, it's given everybody else the opportunity to see how hard they work and how dedicated he is.

"But each week, he doesn't mind stepping up and accepting the responsibility of being a leader. And every single week, I see more growth."

Truex, who won Busch Series championships in each of his two seasons racing at that level, finished 19th in points last year during his first full Cup season. He agreed with Siegel that the No. 1 team was poised for success this season, regardless of whether he would have been forced into a leadership position at DEI. Their success in the Busch Series prepared them for it, he said.

"I think it was definitely a big part of the reason why we're as good as we are this year," Truex said. "It was part of the reason why it took us a while to get going last year -- because we were all new to the Cup Series with the cars and the setups and the tracks and stuff. So it took us a little while to try to find a routine, find some stuff that works for us -- to find the way we need to do things to be successful.

"But having that chemistry and that relationship and that confidence in each other was the ultimately the reason that we were able to get through those hard times, and not get mad, and not fire people, and not start pointing the fingers. We all took the blame when we messed up, and all learned from it together. And we've come a long way because of those reasons."

Now he's the Junior poised to step over the threshold into the Chase. His strategy this Sunday, when he'll start eighth, will be simple.

"There's really not that much pressure on us at all," Truex said. "We just have to go out and do our job and hope that nothing falls out of the sky onto our racecar."