Michael Waltrip Racing.

Charlotte 56 Race Report

Martin Truex Jr. NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota finished 26th and is 21st in points

MARTIN TRUEX JR. SUMMARY: No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. finished 26th in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver started 14th, but went down a lap before the halfway mark due to handling issues. Just past the halfway mark, Truex's Toyota sustained major damage when he was hit from behind while attempting to avoid a spinning car. The NAPA Know How team worked on pit road to make major repairs keeping Truex in the race but down several laps. Truex is 21st in the driver standings -- 53 points out of the top 10. Truex and the NAPA KNOW HOW team return to action Sunday at the Kansas Speedway.

TRUEX JR. NOTES:
- Started 14th and finished 26th
- Raced in 26th at the halfway point
- Received major damage on lap 240 when he was hit from behind while avoiding an incident in front of
  him.
- The NAPA Know How pit crew repaired the No. 56 on pit road to finish the race

TRUEX QUOTE: "We were hoping to keep our streak of top-10s going, but we struggled in the early stages. We lost a lap and were hoping to race our way back onto the lead lap. We had a chance until we got involved in a wreck. It wiped out our chance to get a decent finish. It's frustrating. This is a real disappointment for us because we had made up some ground in the points over the last few weeks and now we lost some. We'll keep digging and go to Kansas.”

RACE NOTES
- Kevin Harvick won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
- Dale Earnhardt ran out of gas while leading on the backstretch on the final lap of the green-white
  checkered finish.
- David Ragan, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top-five
- Carl Edwards is the Sprint Cup Series points leader
- The race featured 39 lead changes among 19 drivers
- Fourteen cautions slowed the race for 64 laps
- The race lasted approximately four hours, 33 minutes in front of an announced crowd of 145,000 fans

For more race results visit: www.nascar.com