'No guarantee' we'll get to Homestead - Truex

Martin Truex Jr. might be pinching himself over the season he's had, but that doesn't mean the Furniture Row Racing driver is getting too far ahead of himself.

With 69 playoff points and seven victories, Truex keeps tearing through the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. As such, it didn't take many long to declare Truex a title favorite.

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With the Round of 8 beginning this weekend at Martinsville Speedway it means the championship race is right around the corner and Truex still looks primed to take one of the coveted spots. To everyone but him, it seems.

"There's no guarantee we'll even get to Homestead yet," Truex said after winning at Kansas. "One race at a time. You look at me like I'm crazy, but [Kyle] Larson was plus ... 29? He was second in points. He didn't make it [out of the Round of 12].

"They all say I'm a lock because I got so many playoff points. I'm telling you, it's not that simple. We got to go out and perform, can't have an engine failure, can't get in a crash five laps into Martinsville. We got to focus on one race at a time and do the best job we can do, try to keep the momentum going."

Truex will automatically start Martinsville off on the right foot. After winning the pole last weekend, the No. 78 team will have the first pit stall at Martinsville, which will help tremendously with track position.

"Having the first pit stall at Martinsville is huge," Truex acknowledged. "I would say it's probably the biggest advantage of any track we go to. Martinsville is challenging. It's been one of the tracks that I feel we've been chipping away at. Our short track program has gotten a lot better this season. I'm looking forward to Martinsville and hopefully we'll have the best race we've ever had there."

While Truex is the defending pole winner at Martinsville, the short track has never been a strong suit of his. With seven top-10 finishes in 23 starts, Truex enters the weekend with a 20.4 average finish.

Of the three tracks (Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix) in this round of the playoffs, Truex has not experienced victory at any of them. Except, history hasn't meant much when it comes to Truex lately. He continues to improve in laps led, top five and top-10 finishes in addition to collecting checkered flags.

Earlier this year, Truex's best finish among the three tracks was an eighth place at Texas. And of course, Truex is the king of the 1.5-mile tracks, having won six of them this season.

In six playoff races, Truex's average finish is an impressive 5.8 and excluding a crash at Talladega, he's finished no worse than fourth with three wins.

Truex might only be looking at one race at a time, but if things continue the way they've been going, he will for certain be in the biggest race of the year.

"We have momentum heading into the next round and have to keep on doing what we've been doing so far in the playoffs," he said. "This is crunch time and you're competing against the best of the best. Everyone has to be at the top of their game."