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The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season kicking off at the LA Memorial Coliseum seems to have relit the fire inside Joe Gibbs Racing driver and 2017 Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. Last weekend's Busch Light Clash saw the #19 Bass Pro Shop's Toyota Camry TRD driver take the checkered flag in P1 after battling at the sharp end of the field all race long.
Visiting Victory Lane after the 150-lap-long exhibition-style race seems to have worked wonders for Truex Jr.'s mindset for the upcoming regular season that kicks off later this month at Daytona International Speedway. The Mayetta, New Jersey native, who was contemplating retirement after dismal results in the 2022 Cup Series season, spoke about what he and the #19 crew at Joe Gibbs Racing have outlined for this year and said:
"Just have a lot of fire in my belly to go out and change what we did last year. If you look at all the statistics, we had a decent year. We were consistent. We scored a lot of points. So many times that we felt like we were doing the right things, and probably should have won a couple (of) races, and they got away from us. That was very, very frustrating. Knowing that we were doing everything we needed to do to win."
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Martin Truex Jr.'s appearance in the 2022 Clash at the Coliseum did not help his morale throughout the season any further last year, as he managed to qualify as one of the last cars for the event, with an ultimate finishing position of P15. However, he seems to have turned things around this year. He elaborated on his experience last year and said:
"Honestly, we were probably the worst car here last year, literally. We were just God awful, we barely made the race. Rode around the back and I spun out by myself on the last lap it was so bad."
Martin Truex Jr. elaborates on the changes he and his team have made since the 2022 Cup Series season
On SiriusXM NASCAR Radio's post-race show 2023 Clash at the Coliseum, winner Martin Truex Jr. spoke about how the off-season helped him at Joe Gibbs Racing regroup from a dismal 2022 season and said:
"Everybody's worked really hard in the off-season to be better. Our whole Toyota group, our whole JGR group, we had a good off-season of learning."
Watch Martin Truex Jr. try and replicate his success from the LA Memorial Coliseum at Daytona International Speedway later this month.
