CONCORD, N.C. -- After the first four races of the season, Martin Truex Jr. arrived at Bristol Motor Speedway insisting that his next Cup Series win wasn't that far away -- and he went on to praise his new pit crew for their strong performance early in the season.

Truex called his pit crew incredible but admitted he didn't exactly know what the Michael Waltrip Racing organization had done to make them so good. Truex is in his first season with MWR after spending his entire career with what is now Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing.

“

For us, it's just about getting that experience, building up the notebook together.

”

-- MARTIN TRUEX JR.

Fast forward seven races and the No. 56 team arrives at Charlotte Motor Speedway with one top-five and four top-10 finishes heading into Saturday's All-Star events -- not to mention being 12th in the points standings and earning first-quarter honors in the Mechanix Wear most valuable pit crew award competition.

Truex joins a small stable of drivers in the top 12 with strong performances over the first third of the Cup season, but lacking a win to guarantee a spot in the All-Star Race. Truex has said before he had no desire to watch the main event on TV but admits it won't be easy racing his way to a win in the Showdown.

"There's going to be a lot of competition," Truex said. "It's going to be a lot harder to win than it has been in the past, I think. It should make for a really exciting race."

The driver is covering all of his bases and making no bones about an all-out effort to ramp up the Fan Vote in his favor. Truex recently recorded a video posted to YouTube asking fans to vote early and often and ended with a picture of his smiling face wedged between the words: "Vote for Martin -- Tried and Truex."

Truex said he is appreciative of the Fan Vote, but would love nothing more than to earn his way into the All-Star Race by putting his pedal to the metal when the green flag drops for Saturday's Showdown. (Continued)