JOLIET, IL – SEPTEMBER 17: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota, celebrates after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tales of the Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 17, 2017, in Joliet, Illinois. Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Overcoming adversity is a sign of a championship winning team.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points leader, Martin Truex Jr and his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team have had their share of adversity and they also have the most victories of any other team this season with five.

So, is this their year to win a Cup Series title?

After the first race of the Cup Series ten-race playoffs could be too early to say they’re on their way. But, it’s also possible the first playoff race at Chicagoland Speedway is a microcosm of what this team is all about.

After a couple of penalties for pit road speeding and loose lug nuts, Truex lost his track position at the front and fell back deep in the field. Truex methodically raced his way back to the top spot to win the Tales of the Turtles 400 on Sunday afternoon.

One reality all teams deal with is that as humans involved in this sport, they all make mistakes. The big difference in winning and losing is how they deal with the mistakes they make.

Truex has been with his Furniture Row Racing team three years and the team has clicked from the beginning having some degree of success every year.

So why does it seem this could be their year to win a title?

“Just experience,” says Truex. “Confidence, you know.  We’ve been in this position the last two years really.  Last year we had the speed that we have now I feel like.  We didn’t have it as consistently.  Two years ago we didn’t have the speed, we just executed well.  So now I feel like we’ve got all of that put together this year, where we’re very consistent.  We really don’t have any tracks I feel like that we’re not good at.”

“It’s just being confident each and every week no matter where we’re going is the difference.  We don’t have any big question marks on the schedule anymore.”

Their experience together has also helped them put together a good notebook so they know what to expect at every track they race. That same experience gives them the confidence to deal with whatever comes their way.

“We’ve been chipping away at these tracks,” continued Truex. “Putting together a good notebook, putting together some good ideas that seem to work, continuing to go back and play on that.

“Just repetition and time together I think has just helped us get better and better each year.”

Looking ahead at the rest of the tracks on the Cup Series Playoffs schedule, they have one more track, the No. 78 team is still working on getting more speed and they’re getting closer.

“Maybe Martinsville is probably our worst track still,” says Truex. “I think that’s about the only one. Talladega, of course, is a wild card. Martinsville, we haven’t had winning speed there yet. We’ve been getting closer. I feel like we’ve been between maybe fourth and seventh the last few trips there.  So we need to get better.  I feel like everywhere else we can go and win.  That’s the difference.”

No one has a crystal ball to predict how the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will end at Homestead Miami Speedway. But if history and experience tell us anything, it’s that those teams with the confidence to overcome adversity, a good work ethic, and a ‘We can do it’ attitude that usually rise to the top.