No. 00 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Ryan Truex continues in his chase for the K&N Pro Series East championship  Saturday evening at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, GA. The 18-year-old Mayetta, N.J. native has three races left to achieve his back-to-back championship quest as well as his attempt to secure Michael Waltrip Racing’s second championship.

Truex will transition back to his six-race NASCAR Nationwide Series event Sept. 25 at Dover International Speedway after the final East Series race Sept. 24. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver has raced in two of the Nationwide events this season, making his debut in St. Louis followed by the race in Brooklyn, Michigan. Truex raced consistently in the top-10 at each event.

Truex is the son of race car driver Martin Truex Sr. and the younger brother of Martin Truex Jr. who drives the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. With his eye on the East Series championship Truex tested his East Series car with crew chief Mike Greci Aug. 19 to better prepare the NAPA team for their race at Gresham this Saturday.

QUOTES

Truex on racing at Gresham Motorsports Park: “Gresham is a fast track. I really like running there a lot. This will be my first time actually racing there, and I’m confident that my NAPA team can go there and do well. It’s a track that I feel comfortable on. I’ve heard a lot of guys compare it to Bristol, but with less banking so I’ll have to stay on my toes. I think our main strategy will be to make sure the car rotates in the center, and to qualify well for the track position. I’m definitely looking forward to getting on the track Saturday.”

Truex on his chase for the East Series Championship: “We are just trying to take this one race at a time right now. The championship is our long term goal, but we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We have Gresham to focus on this weekend and two more races after that. Greci and I have both just been focusing on one race at a time and I think that has worked out well for us.”

Truex on testing at Gresham: “Our test went really well. Greci and my guys put a great car together for this track. We unloaded and were immediately fast, that’s always a fun way to start a testing session. We worked making minor changes and picked up time towards the end of the test. I think this was a great confidence boost for my whole team and really got us all excited to go back and race on Saturday night.”

Greci on working with Ryan at Gresham: “He did an exceptional job at  the test on Thursday. We were fast when we unloaded off of the trailer and he continued to get better as we continued. He really likes the track and is comfortable there. I think that all of the testing he has done in the Cup cars there has been a huge help to him. It’s a fast track, and the only concern we are going to face is the tire issue. I know Goodyear will bring a good tire, but the series has never raced there or done a tire test on the track so it will be new to everyone.”

Notes

• Veteran Mike Greci, who once served as Martin Truex’s crew chief, has been working with Truex throughout his career in the East Series beginning in 2008.

• Truex is the first driver to earn a championship for Michael Waltrip Racing when he won the K&N Pro Series East Championship in 2009. He leads the 2010 standings by 33 points over Darrell Wallace Jr. with three races left in the championship.

• Truex is the third member of his family to win in the K&N Pro Series East. His father, Martin Truex Sr. won at New Hampshire in 1994 and his brother Martin Truex Jr. won five times.