Martin Truex Jr. needed a near-perfect night at Bristol Motor Speedway to make up an 14-point deficit in the final race of the first round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
In his last season of full-time racing, he has yet to get a win and he’s in the midst of a 45-winless streak. Despite coming close several times this season, he has yet to find victory lane.
Saturday night (Sept. 21) looked promising for the quiet and calm veteran who qualified inside in fourth place. He seemed to be strong early, running inside the top five for most of the first stage before finishing in fourth. In Stage 2 he improved, inching his way closer to the lead despite the tires not wearing out as much as they did in the spring, making passing harder.
Truex being one of the few able to make gains, finished second in stage 2. The night was shaping up to be solid and the No. 19 driver was doing everything he needed to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
Until he didn’t.
In the final stage, on a round of pit stops after a Corey LaJoie crash, he was caught speeding on pit road which effectively ended his playoff hopes. Barring disaster or implosion from other drivers in the field, his shot at a second Cup Series title was dead where it stood.
Truex was asked post-race about being around the limit entering pit road.
“I just try to do the same thing every time,” Truex said. “It was .09 mph, just really frustrated and upset. We had to run second or third to make it, not sure if we would have but it would’ve been nice to see, I just hate I screwed it up for everybody.”
Truex had a great car, but the track position was king and tires wore off faster when being used to get around other cars. The leaders, mostly Kyle Larson who won in dominating fashion, had clean air, allowing them to catch him at the tail end and put him a lap down.
“You have to keep track position and I lost all ours when I sped,” Truex lamented.
What caused the penalty was running in the curve in turn 4 down a hill. The driver had to have the lights go from red to green and he couldn’t get them from red to green quick enough, which led to the speeding penalty.
“We’ve been swallowing disappointment lately,” Truex said when reflecting on a season in which he has had only two top-10 finishes in the last 17 races. An uncharacteristic trait for a driver known for his consistency and getting the most out of his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota…
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