Martin Truex Jr. was nearing his first victory of the 2024 NASCAR season at Richmond Raceway on Easter Night, but it wasn’t in the cards. With two laps to go, a caution came out after Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace made contact. Truex came down pit road in first place, came out in second place, and eventually lost the race.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver accused Denny Hamlin of jumping the final restart, which appears to be the case, but he was more frustrated about the other situations. Truex talked about the last two laps with Hamlin and Larson and expressed frustration with a loss at Richmond.
“Unfortunately, it’s happened a few times here at [Richmond Raceway],” Truex said. “Lead the whole race and then some [expletive] move brings out a caution coming to the white flag and ruins our whole night.”
Martin Truex Jr. isn't happy. pic.twitter.com/CclgSt50hn
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 1, 2024
“I felt like [Denny Hamlin] used me up down there in Turn 1, and I didn’t really appreciate a teammate racing me like that. I wish he would have gave me a chance. But that’s the way it is…[Kyle Larson] drove into the side of me in [Turns] 1 and 2, and I got a little loose down the backstretch. I don’t know if my left rear was going down or what, and I kind of slammed into him. No big deal.”
Truex and Larson made heavy contact in the final laps and after the checkered flag, but he was more annoyed with how Hamlin raced him in the final laps. The driver of the No. 19 car has every right to be upset because he came up short, but that is racing. After a disappointing night, Truex will have to look ahead to Martinsville Speedway to earn his first victory of the 2024 season.
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