Martin Truex Jr. increased his already long litany of errors and lost opportunities on Saturday night by.09 mph. He claimed to have exceeded the speed limit by that much when he pulled into the pits during the NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night.
However, Truex’s punishment for making yet another error extended beyond just losing out on a top-10 result. In addition, it resulted in his disqualification from the Cup Series playoffs, guaranteeing that Truex’s last season as a full-time driver will not conclude with a victory lap.
“You never like to let anybody down, no matter what the situation,” Truex said. “I hate that I did that tonight.”
Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs, Harrison Burton, and Truex were the other three drivers eliminated; Truex was 21 points short of continuing. Truex’s days as a full-time driver are over, but Keselowski, Gibbs, and Burton will remain full-time drivers beyond this season, giving them the chance to pursue more championships.
This summer, he declared his retirement, hoping to add another championship trophy to his collection that he had won seven years prior. He reasoned that he would, at the absolute least, go on a deep run and finish on a high note.
Being eliminated in the first round was not something that was thought about too much. Both he and his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team were too good.
Until they collectively weren’t.
Throughout the season, Truex and his squad were too often hampered by errors and/or bad luck. His two crashes in the first two playoff races alone left him trailing by fourteen points going into the Bristol elimination race, which played out eerily for Truex’s disappointing farewell tour.
Truex was running comfortably inside the top five before to the punishment. Truex advanced to the second round thanks to his respectable effort and the poor performance of Daniel Suárez, the last driver above the cut line.
until Truex accelerated during the 500-lap race’s 333rd lap pit stop. He was unable to recover since there were not enough laps left, there were no warnings the rest of the way, and passing was challenging. It was his sixth speeding fine of the year.
“It’s really tough when it’s .09 miles per hour that screws up your whole chance at a good season,” Truex said. “I don’t know how that happened. I didn’t know I was even that close, honestly. I felt like I did the same thing as every other stop.”
In his final full-time season, @MartinTruex_Jr is eliminated in the Round of 16. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/qjWYFEHAvJ
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 22, 2024
As soon as Truex was told he had sped, he realized his chances of moving forward were pretty much sealed. Bristol was so much a track-position race that it was improbable that anyone could catch up in that short a period.
“There’s nothing you can do. It’s the way this racing is,” Truex said. “You got to keep track position, and I lost all of ours when I sped.”
The fact that Truex’s season is still ongoing despite no longer being championship-eligible is one of the many distinctive aspects of NASCAR’s playoffs. He is still able to compete in seven races full-time. He has seven races left to pursue his 35th career victory, which he has been chasing since his previous trip to victory lane in July 2023.
For the rest of the season, the objective is to secure one more victory. And with stops at some of Truex’s greatest tracks, the remaining calendar provides plenty of chance to do just that.
“Just really sad for my guys, they work so hard,” he said. “We had a really strong car tonight and we got a lot of stage points. We did what we needed there. Just hate I screwed it up. I wish we could have at least seen if we could have done it. It would have been fun to have a fighting chance. From here, we’ll just go on and try to race hard and get back to victory lane before it’s all said and done.”
However, nothing is certain. Especially not this season, when far too many good days ended in disappointment. The No. 19 team has not finished in the top five since early May, despite having plenty of speed in their Toyotas. Over the previous eight races—three of which they have not finished—they have not placed higher than 20th.
For a significant portion of Saturday night, Bristol appeared to be a positive turn of events. Rather, it turned into just another illustration of the frustration Truex has experienced.
“Been getting used to swallowing disappointment lately. It sucks,” Truex said. “We’ve got seven more races to try to go out on a high note with this team and hopefully win a race. That would be awesome, and that’s going to be our focus from here on out.”
(Photo of Martin Truex Jr. on pit road during Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway: James Gilbert / Getty Images)
