NASCAR
Martin Truex Jr. Fails to Advance to Round of 12 in Final Playoff Run
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Martin Truex, Jr. will not advance out of the Round of 16 in his final full-time Cup Series season.
The 44-year-old driver, who won the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series championship, came into the night 14 points below the cutline. After finishing second in Stage 2, Truex sped on pit road under a caution with just over 100 laps to go, starting him at the rear of the field on the restart.
The remainder of the race ran green to the checkered flag and the No. 19 would go on to finish 24th, one lap down.
“I was just trying to do the same thing every time, ya know,” Truex said of the trip to pit road where he was ultimately penalized. “I guess it was .09 MPH (over) so…just really frustrated. Upset. Hate it for my guys, they work so hard.
“We had a shot at it tonight. It wasn’t going to be easy…I don’t know if we were going to be quite good enough but it would have been nice to find out at least. I just hate it that I screwed it up for everybody.”
Seven races now remain for the New Jersey native in his full-time Cup Series driving career. Truex says his focus will be going out on some high notes with the No. 19 team and ultimately looking to get into victory lane one last time.
Written by Noah Lewis
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Photo Credit James Gilbert/Getty Images for NASCARMedia
Full post-race interview:
