There was a time _ it seems ages now _ that Martin Truex Jr. was considered the nice kid of the block. You liked him, but you really didn't think he had the temperament to beat you up and steal your lunch money.
Everybody may want to check their pockets.
Truex _ a one-man wrecking crew for Furniture Row Racing _ is crushing the opposition.
His victory at Dover was his third in five races. He won two of the three races in the first round of the Chase elimination Series.
He has five straight Top 10s. And if not for a blink-of-an-eye pass at Daytona by Denny Hamlin, he would have won the season's signature race.
"Think about his year!" said NBC Sports NASCAR analyst Steve Letarte. "Martin Truex Jr. right now needs to be absorbing every second of this. He was inches from winning the Daytona 500, dominates the Coca-Cola 600, wins the Southern 500, those are all the crown jewels."
Is there a bigger one on the way, like a Cup title? He qualified for the Final Four last year in Homestead, but came up short. Is this the year?
"I can't even believe it man _ it's just living a dream right now," Truex said after winning in Dover. "It's a fairytale. I don't even know what to say."
Truex and his Chevy were beasts taming the Monster Mile, leading a race high 187 laps. He won by almost eight seconds.
Onward to Charlotte this weekend. Did we mention that he's already won there as well this season?
"We're not messing around I guess," Truex said. "I don't know _ what else can you say?"
