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| "I used to race for Mikey after 2009. In fact, he fired me, as I recall..." |
Martin Truex Jr. was able to hold off a charging Kevin Harvick to win today’s Sprint Cup race at Pocono. And with paint manufacturer Axalta now sponsoring the race (the “We Paint Winners 400”), Truex became the first race winner to receive a fresh coat of body paint in victory lane.
“This one was a long time coming”, Truex said upon exiting his car and disrobing. “With everything this team has done to improve itself, we knew a win was just around the corner—hey, careful with that paint roller!”
Nascar has its share of unique post-race celebrations, from climbing the catch fence to kissing the bricks at Indy. But today was the first body-painting on record.
“Of course we might’ve liked to have a driver with a more vibrant paint scheme win”, said Axalta marketing director/co-painter Russ Burns. “But hey, only having to use Basic Matte Black #0034 makes things a little easier for us. When we said ‘We Paint Winners’, we weren’t just talking about the cars. At Axalta, we’re very literal.”
“We’ve been through a lot on the track—put a second coat on my forehead, I get greasy there—and it seemed like we were so close so many times.”, Truex said. “To be able to get a win, to lock myself into the Chase, to feel a paint brush on my calves, it’s really a special feeling. Strange, but special.”
The paint job was approximately halfway done by the time the celebratory “hat dance” was underway.
“After all the post-race interviews, we think we’ll take Truex to New York City and let him dance the robot on a street corner”, Burns said. “After that we’ll take him to the wind tunnel to show everyone how durable Axalta paints can be.”
Ryan Truex was unavailable for comment, as nobody knows what happened to him.