Martin Truex Jr. comments on ‘unfortunate’ Richmond race
It seemed like everything was going Martin Truex Jr.’s way at Richmond Raceway until it didn’t.
Truex Jr. did it all; led the most laps, won Stage 2, and appeared to be on the way for an Easter victory Sunday night in the Toyota Owners 400.
Truex Jr. held a shrinking lead over Joey Logano in the closing laps of the originally-scheduled 400-lap race, but a Kyle Larson spin on lap 399 brought out the last caution of the night.
“Yeah, it’s unfortunate,” said Truex, who finished inside the Top-5 for the second time in three weeks. “Unfortunately, this has happened to be a few times over the years.
“We were in a great spot and had a great Auto-Owners Toyota Camry all night long. The guys did a really good job all night. We got beat out of the pits and then – I don’t know.”
Truex was second off of pit road behind teammate Denny Hamlin, who entered pit road third.
Hamlin and Truex Jr. restarted side-by-side in NASCAR Overtime, with Hamlin electing for the inside line. Although, Truex Jr.
“He (Hamlin) jumped the start and then used me up into Turn 1,” Truex Jr. said. “Definitely sucks, but a good solid day and a car capable of winning, so we will just have to come back next week and try to get them then.”
Truex Jr. settled for fourth behind race-winner Hamlin, Logano, and Kyle Larson.
Larson and Truex Jr.’s cars made contact on the final on the backstretch, and continued to make more contact after their vehicles exited Turn 4 and crossed the Start/Finish line.
Truex Jr. will have to wait for August for the opportunity at a fourth NASCAR Cup Series win at Richmond.
Leaving Richmond, Truex Jr. retains his points lead at 270, 14 points over Kyle Larson.
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Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.
Since Hamlin jumped the start shouldn’t he lose the win?
It’s interesting to see the driver’s perspective on the contact with Larson and Hamlin.
You mention the potential for crew chief blame in situations like this. Do you think the focus on Truex Jr.’s comments about wanting more from his teammate overshadows the strategic decisions made by the pit crew throughout the race? Richmond General Contractors