For Martin Truex Jr., 0.9 mph ends dream of a walk-off NASCAR Cup championship
BRISTOL, Tenn. — In a season already filled with mistakes and missed opportunities, Martin Truex Jr. added to the lengthy list Saturday night by .09 mph. That was how much he said he was over the speed limit while pitting during Saturday night's NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
But the consequences for yet another mistake went beyond the subsequent penalty costing Truex a likely top-10 finish. It also led to his elimination from the Cup Series playoffs, ensuring that Truex's final season as a full-time driver won't end with a walk-off championship.
"You never like to let anybody down, no matter what the situation," Truex said. "I hate that I did that tonight."
Truex was one of four drivers — along with Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs and Harrison Burton — eliminated, with Truex 21 points short of moving forward. While Keselowski, Gibbs and Burton will continue as full-time drivers past this season, allowing them opportunities to pursue other championships, Truex's days as a full-time driver are done.
He announced his retirement this summer and hoped to add a second championship trophy to go along with the one he earned seven years ago. At the very least, he figured, he'd go on a deep run to end on a memorable note.
Getting knocked out in Round 1 was not something given much consideration. He was too good, and so was his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team.
Until they collectively weren't.
Too many times throughout the season mistakes and/or bad luck hindered Truex and his team. In the playoffs alone, he had crashes in each of the first two races that put him in a 14-point hole entering the Bristol elimination race, which unfolded fittingly for Truex's unfulfilling swan song.
Before the penalty, Truex was running solidly inside the top five. It was a good enough effort that — combined with Daniel Suárez, the final driver above the cut line, having a bad night — vaulted Truex into position to advance to the second round.
Until Truex sped while making a pit stop on Lap 333 of the 500-lap race. With too few laps remaining, no cautions the rest of the way and passing difficult, he couldn't recover. The speeding penalty was his sixth of the season.
"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."
When Truex was informed he had sped, he knew immediately that his odds of advancing were effectively cooked. Bristol was a track-position race to such a degree that to come from the back in that short time was far-fetched.
"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."
Among the many unique features of NASCAR's playoff is that even though Truex is no longer championship-eligible, his season is not over. He has seven races left as a full-time driver. Seven races left to chase the 35th win of his career, something he's been after since July 2023 when he last visited victory lane.
Getting one more win is the goal for the remainder of the season. And the rest of the schedule offers ample opportunity to do so, with visits to some of Truex's best tracks.
"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."
Yet nothing is guaranteed. Especially not this season, in which too many promising days turned sour. Despite having ample speed in its Toyotas, the No. 19 team hasn't finished in the top five since early May, and they haven't finished better than 20th over the past eight races, a stretch that includes failing to finish three races.
For much of Saturday night, Bristol seemed like a change of fortune for the better. Instead, it became just another example of the frustration Truex has had to endure.
"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 / )
