Martin Truex Jr. faces the threat of early elimination from the NASCAR playoffs after being caught in wrecks for two consecutive weeks — both caused by other drivers.
During the closing laps at Watkins Glen, Truex Jr. was running just inside the top ten and barely above the playoff cut-line when he was forced into a four-wide situation, knocking him down the order. On the subsequent restart, he was involved in a pile-up in the esses, which led to an unscheduled pit stop for repairs and fresh tires. Despite his best efforts, he only managed to finish 20th in overtime, leaving him 14 points below the cut-line, despite winning the race’s opening stage.
Visibly frustrated, Truex didn’t hold back his criticism of the reckless driving at the end of the race. “You get a green-white-checkered finish, and people just drive through each other,” Truex said. “We were in a decent spot with our Camry, but you go through the esses, and they just plow through you. This racing is ridiculous.”
Known as one of the cleanest drivers on the circuit, the 2017 NASCAR Cup champion was exasperated by the lack of driving etiquette, which has become a recurring issue during late-race restarts at road courses.
“It’s crazy that these races always come down to this,” Truex continued. “How can these guys call themselves the best in the world when they’re just wrecking everyone on the restarts? It’s frustrating, but that’s how it is these days. I’m out of here.”
It was a rough day for the entire Joe Gibbs Racing team. Teammates Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin were caught in a Lap 1 incident, with Hamlin crashing again later in the race. Bell finished as the highest JGR driver in 14th, while the others, including Truex, placed 20th or worse. Ty Gibbs, another JGR driver, now sits just six points above Hamlin on the playoff bubble.
With one race left in the Round of 16, at least one Joe Gibbs Racing driver is likely to face elimination. For Truex, this is his final shot at a championship before retiring from full-time racing, but he heads into the elimination race on a streak of seven straight finishes of 20th or worse.
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