Martin Truex Jr.’s Vegas gamble falls short

LAS VEGAS — An opportunity to try and steal a victory in Las Vegas came up six sports short for Martin Truex Jr.

A late-race caution set the stage for overtime in the Pennzoil 400 Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Truex stayed on the racetrack when the rest of the lead lap pit under caution for fresh tires.

“We just hoped we would get to the white (flag) and maybe they would crash,” said Truex, who was running in fourth place prior to the caution.

Truex assumed the lead and chose to restart on the inside lane with William Byron, who won the race’s first two stages, to his outside with two fresh tires.

“We did okay the first lap,” Truex said. “We held second there for almost a whole lap and got into one in second after the white so we were in pretty good shape there, but got real tight in one and two and got freight-trained down the backstretch.

“But all in all, it was a good gamble and a strong day by our Bass Pro Camry and all of our guys. At the end, we just took a gamble.”

Truex, a two-time winner at Las Vegas, finished seventh for his first Top-10 finish of 2023.

Truex has a 47-race losing streak entering this weekend’s race at Phoenix Raceway.