Tag: Martin Truex Jr

‘My opinion is the same’ – Truex on Richmond restart

Martin Truex Jr. still believes his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate jumped last weekend’s final restart at Richmond Raceway. “My opinion is the same,” Truex said Saturday about Denny Hamlin. The two restarted side-by-side for overtime, Truex on the …

Martin Truex Jr. still believes his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate jumped last weekend’s final restart at Richmond Raceway.

“My opinion is the same,” Truex said Saturday about Denny Hamlin.

The two restarted side-by-side for overtime, Truex on the outside of Hamlin. Hamlin was the race leader, having taken the top spot by beating Truex off pit road. Until the caution had come out, Truex was in control of the race and had led 228 laps.

NASCAR did not penalize Hamlin after initially saying it was “awful close” on the restart. NASCAR senior vice president of competition, Elton Sawyer, then said two days later that Hamlin did go early and it might have been officiated differently earlier in the race.

Truex has not talked to NASCAR. The former Cup Series champion also said he doesn’t know the restart rules and doesn’t think anyone else does either.

“I’ve seen what was said,” Truex said of NASCAR’s explanation. “I read what they said and I heard what Elton Sawyer said that if it happened with 50 to go or 100 to go or 300 to go, they may have called. It’s clear as mud.”

As the series shifts to Martinsville Speedway, the conversation has been on how closely NASCAR will monitor the restart zone. As a result, some drivers believe everyone will be on their best behavior to avoid being penalized. Truex is one of them. Sort of.

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“I guess if you try to jump, don’t be surprised if they penalize you,” Truex said. “I don’t know. I don’t really understand — it’s a black-and-white rule. You get to the box and you go. I don’t really understand what all the questions are about. You go before it, you should get penalized.”

Truex said he doesn’t know the answer to whether NASCAR needs additional restart rules or something put in place to police them. The race leader, the control car, has to fire first anywhere between the two lines designated as the restart zone.

“It’s hard to follow the rules, and then somebody breaks the rules and doesn’t get in trouble for it,” Truex said. “It’s ridiculous.”

Despite still facing questions about what happened at Richmond, Truex said last weekend is water under the bridge. Saturday, he qualified fourth at Martinsville Speedway, where he’s won three of the last 10 races.

“It’s a race, it’s over,” Truex said. “I was frustrated. It’s aggravating to lead an entire race, dominate a race, and then have it go away that way because I think that’s the fifth or sixth time it’s happened at Richmond. So, you just get aggravated, and it all piles on in a short amount of time, in just 10 or 15 minutes.

“I clearly lost my cool and did some things I’m probably not proud of. But you move on, you got to next week, and you hope you can come out on top and do a better job.”

Truex unhappy with Hamlin, Larson after losing out on Richmond win

A dominating night for Martin Truex Jr. at Richmond Raceway turned into frustration and fender slamming over the final lap of the Toyota Owners 400. The final caution with two laps to go set everything in motion. Truex had control of the race and …

A dominating night for Martin Truex Jr. at Richmond Raceway turned into frustration and fender slamming over the final lap of the Toyota Owners 400.

The final caution with two laps to go set everything in motion. Truex had control of the race and was leading Joey Logano when Kyle Larson spun off Turn 4 from contact with Bubba Wallace. In the ensuing pit stops, Truex came off pit road second to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, putting them on the front row for the restart.

Hamlin chose the inside and got the early advantage going into Turn 1, which Truex said was because Hamlin jumped the restart. He then took issue with how Hamlin ran him through the corner to take the lead and drive away.

But it didn’t end there. On the final lap, Truex lost second position to Logano in Turn 1, with Larson challenging his inside going down the backstretch. Truex turned left into Larson, and the two made additional contact off turn 4, which was initiated by Larson admitting he didn’t care if he squeezed Truex into the wall.

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The two traded more shots after the checkered flag. Truex then set his sights on Hamlin, running into his back bumper at the end of the backstretch on the cool-down lap.

“It’s unfortunately happened to us a few times here at Richmond,” Truex, who ultimately finished fourth, said about a victory slipping away. “We lead the whole race and then a (expletive) move brings out a caution coming to the white flag and ruins our whole night.

“It was unfortunate, but honestly, just an awesome job by my whole team. The Auto-Owners Camry was a rocket. It was something like we’ve had here in the past and unfortunately, this has happened to us a few times.

“We came in (to pit road) with the lead, go out second to the fastest pit crew on pit road is a tough one to swallow. But I feel like we still could have had a race for it but just got used up in Turn 1 on the restart.”

Truex led a race-high 228 of 407 laps and won the second stage.

“I felt like (Hamlin) used me up down there in Turn 1, and I didn’t really appreciate a teammate racing me like that,” Truex said. “I wish he would have (given) me a chance. But that’s the way it is.”

As for the Larson scuffle, Truex pointed the finger at the Hendrick Motorsports driver for starting the contact.

“He drove into the side of me in (Turns) 1 and 2, and I got a little loose down the backstretch,” Truex said. “I don’t know if my left rear was going down or what, and I kind of slammed into him. No big deal.”

Larson has no hard feelings towards Truex after overtime clashes

Kyle Larson believes he just happened to be the outlet for Martin Truex Jr. to vent his frustration during Sunday night’s overtime finish at Richmond Raceway. Larson and Truex traded multiple shots on the final lap of the Toyota Owners 400. The …

Kyle Larson believes he just happened to be the outlet for Martin Truex Jr. to vent his frustration during Sunday night’s overtime finish at Richmond Raceway.

Larson and Truex traded multiple shots on the final lap of the Toyota Owners 400. The first came from Truex down the backstretch when he turned left into the right side of Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Off Turn 4, Larson ran Truex up the track, and the two collided twice more after the finish line.

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“My view was Denny [Hamlin] used him up off (Turn) 2, just ran him out of racetrack to get the lead, which you’re going to do that on a green-white-checkered,” Larson said. “Then he was kind of falling back in the middle lane. [Joey Logano] got to his inside and kind of ran hard into (Turn) 1, and then I just followed the 22 through (Turns) 1 and 2.

“I think Martin … I don’t know if his spotter didn’t say that I was inside of him or what, but he just hung a left and hit my right front, had me up on the apron, and then turned left on me down the middle of the backstretch. Then we’re drag racing to the start/finish line, and I didn’t really care at that point if I was going to squeeze him into the wall since he turned left on me on the backstretch.

“I think, ultimately, he’s just mad at Denny, and I was the closest guy to him to take some anger out on.”

Larson finished third and Truex fourth, with the two combining to lead 372 of 402 laps and split the stage wins. Larson claimed the first stage and Truex the second.

Ironically, the caution that set up overtime was Larson spinning off Turn 4. Larson, who was running fourth, got loose off the corner, and contact from a closely trailing Bubba Wallace sent him spinning down the frontstretch and into the grass.

Despite the spin, Larson didn’t lose too much ground. He came off pit road fifth for the final restart and chose the outside lane to put himself on the outside of the second row.

“Good fortune, I guess,” Larson said of how the spin and caution didn’t end his chances. “I don’t really know how to describe it. I got lucky. I got lucky that I had room to spin and thankfully, I was hoping the grass wasn’t going to be too slick.

“I kind of got it pointed somewhat straighter when I got to the grass, and that helped me get going. Just thank my lucky stars.”

Wallace came to Larson after the race to apologize. It was a friendly conversation between the two.

“He wasn’t being intentional and if it was intentional, it was to help his race out to get a caution and hopefully have a good pit stop,” Larson said. “But it didn’t work out that way. It just is what it is.

“I’d be (expletive) off right now if I was spun and would have finished in the 20s or whatever. But I had some good karma today, and he had the bad karma from it (with a bad pit stop).”

Truex reflects on how far he’s come ahead of 20th Daytona 500 start

Martin Truex Jr. remembers the details of his first trip to Daytona International Speedway as if it were yesterday, and marvels at how different his life was back then. How much time has flown and how different things are – for himself and for …

Martin Truex Jr. remembers the details of his first trip to Daytona International Speedway as if it were yesterday, and marvels at how different his life was back then.

How much time has flown and how different things are — for himself and for NASCAR — is why Truex is in disbelief that he is about to make his 20th start in the Daytona 500. The first came when he qualified a third entry for Dale Earnhardt Inc. in 2006. It was his second year of running a limited schedule for the company.

“It’s changed drastically, as you could imagine,” Truex said of his life and career. “When I first got to come down here, I still couldn’t believe I was getting the opportunity. Basically, up until ’03, I never once expected or was really 100% working toward being a driver for a living. I was working — I was racing for fun, I was racing as something … I just did what I did.”

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At the time, Truex was a full-time driver for Chance 2 Motorsports in what is now the Xfinity Series. A start in the Daytona 500 was only the second time he’d competed in a NASCAR national series race at the speedway.

“I honestly was shocked when I got a call to come test a car for DEI for Chance 2,” continued Truex. “And then when I got here, I was like, ‘Damn, I can’t believe I’m here.’ I’d go in the hauler to test for the first time and my firesuit’s hanging up and I’m like, ‘I didn’t have to take that to the dry cleaners.’ That’s the kind of things I thought when I first came.

“I just remember I didn’t have to work on the car. I didn’t have to do anything but show up and drive it. It didn’t make any sense. So that’s how much has changed. It’s crazy. And now, obviously, I come here, and the only thing I want to do is win. That’s the only thing that matters. I don’t have to do anything else but come here and try to win.”

Truex has not won the Daytona 500 in 19 tries. The closest he came was inches — or one-hundredth of a second — to Toyota teammate Denny Hamlin in 2016. It’s the closest finish in Daytona 500 history.

Truex has not won the Daytona 500, but in 2016 he came closer to doing so than anyone else has without winning it. John Harrelson/Motorsport Images

Sunday, Truex will be behind the wheel of a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry for the 66th running of the Daytona 500, trying once more to add a win in NASCAR’s most storied race to a résumé that already holds many significant accomplishments in the sport. At Chance 2, Truex became a two-time Xfinity Series champion. A year after losing to Hamlin in the Daytona 500, he became a NASCAR Cup Series champion.

The journey hasn’t been easy. Truex felt he should have won at least a couple more races at Dale Earnhardt Inc., and during his tenure at Michael Waltrip Racing, there were seasons of success that also should have netted more victories. Furniture Row Racing is where Truex became a champion, establishing himself as one of the sport’s top drivers.

Dale Earnhardt Inc., however, also went through turbulent times and eventually became Earnhardt Ganassi Racing before completely disappearing. Waltrip closed the doors after a race manipulation scandal rocked his organization in 2013. A year after winning the championship, Barney Visser shuttered his Furniture Row operation for financial reasons.

Truex has driven for Gibbs for six seasons and won 15 races. At no other team did Truex win as many races. And at no other team has he had such stability.

“It’s been great,” he said. “Honestly, for whatever reason, I thought about this the other day. I’ll be at JGR longer than I’ve been anywhere after this year. Which even surprised me thinking about it. I was like, DEI … wait a minute. If you count the (Xfinity) Series days, it was a little bit longer, but Cup, this is going to be where I’ve been the longest, which is surprising to me.

“It’s been nice because, yes, I don’t have to worry about anything. JGR is so stable … and every year, they’re always asking me, ‘Are you coming back? Are you coming back? We want you.’ So, it’s a lot different than the way it used to be. It’s nice not having to worry about that.”

The only concern for Truex these days is trying to win the Daytona 500 before it becomes a trip he’s made for the last time.

‘We couldn’t do anything right’ – Truex on playoff elimination

Martin Truex Jr. felt he had a car to go to battle Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, but a speeding penalty was the dagger in his NASCAR Cup Series postseason. NASCAR nabbed Truex for speeding under the lap 261 caution. He had come off pit road …

Martin Truex Jr. felt he had a car to go to battle Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, but a speeding penalty was the dagger in his NASCAR Cup Series postseason.

NASCAR nabbed Truex for speeding under the lap 261 caution. He had come off pit road second to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin but was forced deep into the field. He never recovered and finished 12th.

Truex needed to win the race to advance. The final margin was a 28-point deficit to the Cup Series playoff grid cutline.

“It’s completely different,” Truex said of his race after the penalty. “If we couldn’t find a way to flip track position pit stop-wise, we were never going to get there. Our car was good. The field is so tight, so close. Your car drives so much worse in traffic. I felt like we did really good to get back to where we did. You just burn the tires off so much worse back there in the hot, dirty track, dirty air. You’re in more rubber.”

The penalty was the turning point for Truex, who started from the pole and led 47 laps. He had a top-three car in the first stage, and the penalty came in the second stage, which took him out of contention for points.

“It’s just a dogfight,” Truex said. “I don’t know. We gave it a hell of an effort. I felt like we had a really strong car. I don’t think we could have beat [Ryan Blaney]. He was really, really strong. We were definitely close. Something to work on for next time.

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“Really disappointed. I mean, I thought I was well under speed leaving that box. Clearly we were speeding, so we have something to look at there. It’s devastating. That’s racing.”

Truex won the regular-season championship and entered the postseason with three victories and 36 playoff points. The bonus points are what carried the No. 19 team through the first two rounds since their average finish was 21.3.

Not until Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the seventh race of the postseason and the first in the Round of 8, did Truex score a top-15 finish. An engine failure a week later at Homestead-Miami Speedway finally pushed him too far behind going into an elimination race.

“Man, I think it just shows how tough this sport is,” Truex said. “Anybody that races here and guys that have raced here that do the broadcasts, they’ll tell you, it’s this close, man. You find this little bit and suddenly you look like a hero. Some other guys find some stuff, suddenly you’re not. We’ve been fast at times, but execution hasn’t been solid, hasn’t been consistent. We’ve had some bad luck. We’ve had a little bit of everything.

“Like I said, some years it feels like it’s your year, some years it feels like it’s not. I just feel we couldn’t do anything right. If it was ever a 50/50 call, it always went against us. A blown engine, a flat tire, you name it — problem after problem. Just kept setting us back, and we couldn’t get no momentum. I think we did a great job today. It was a tiny little error, 0.2mph can ruin your whole year, unfortunately.”

Truex continues JGR qualifying dominance with Martinsville pole

Martin Truex Jr. will start from the pole for the second consecutive week in the NASCAR Cup Series as he again put Toyota in the top of the chart at Martinsville Speedway. Truex’s pole-winning speed was 94.153mph (20.112s). He was the final driver …

Martin Truex Jr. will start from the pole for the second consecutive week in the NASCAR Cup Series as he again put Toyota in the top of the chart at Martinsville Speedway.

Truex’s pole-winning speed was 94.153mph (20.112s). He was the final driver to take time in the final round and knocked Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs from the top spot.

It is Truex’s 23rd career pole in the Cup Series and second at Martinsville Speedway in 36 starts. He has three pole wins this season.

“It’s fun to go [out] last because you always feel like in your mind it’s a bit of advantage here,” Truex said. “The track seems to get better as cars run by themselves. Felt good about that, but wasn’t sure how to drive the car compared to run one. It seemed like everybody else was a little bit slower than their first run in round one, so I was like, ‘OK, if I can just try to go out and match what I did as far the way I drive the car, and we made the right adjustment, it’ll be good.’

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“My first lap basically matched my first lap from run one and then didn’t need another one. It all worked out. The guys made a little adjustment, I hit my marks and here we are.”

Toyota has claimed eight of the nine pole awards in the Cup Series postseason.

Gibbs will start second (94.115mph) and Chase Briscoe will start third (94.106mph). Denny Hamlin starts fourth (94.055mph) and Kyle Larson fifth (93.854mph).

Bubba Wallace starts sixth (93.784mph), Christopher Bell seventh (93.705mph), Kevin Harvick eighth (93.548mph), Ryan Preece ninth (93.548mph) and Brad Keselowski 10th (93.423mph).

Ryan Blaney starts 11th. He goes into Sunday holding down the final transfer spot on the Cup Series playoff grid.

William Byron starts 16th, Chris Buescher 18th and Tyler Reddick 19th. Reddick spun through Turns 3 and 4 on his second lap in qualifying but did not hit anything.

STARTING LINEUP

Truex and crew gear up for final shot at reversing playoff slide

Martin Truex Jr., crew chief James Small and the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team have one more chance to turn their postseason around. “It’s just been a very weird playoffs,” Small said Thursday. “It feels very much like the stuff we went through last …

Martin Truex Jr., crew chief James Small and the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team have one more chance to turn their postseason around.

“It’s just been a very weird playoffs,” Small said Thursday. “It feels very much like the stuff we went through last year — you name it, something went wrong. But we’re still in it with a shot, and that’s how we get up every day. We’re not out of it, so we’ll keep fighting all the way until the last lap Sunday.”

Truex, the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season champion, is 17 points below the cutline with Martinsville Speedway ahead (Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, NBC). An engine failure at Homestead-Miami Speedway has pushed Truex to the brink of elimination after he was penciled in as a title favorite.

In the regular season, Truex earned three victories and had an average finish of 11.4. It’s been the 36 playoff points, however, that have carried Truex through the rounds as the finishes have lacked. In eight postseason races, Truex has an average finish of 20.8 with one top-15 finish.

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“I would never have thought ending the regular season that us and [Denny Hamlin] would be sitting here tied on points below the cutline going into Martinsville,” Small said. “We both had great years and we’ve had ultimately — on average — I feel like the fastest cars every week when you average it out across the season. But it’s just the playoffs, everything kind of went sideways.

“We struggled on pit road. We didn’t have clean races. Martin’s made mistakes; I made mistakes. And then you have the random stuff that’s happened. It’s frustrating, but thankfully we’ve got to reset every round. I thought if we could get to the Round of 8, we’d have really good cars and we’ve had cars that could easily run in the top three the last couple of weeks, and stuff hasn’t played out.

“The engine failure over the weekend really, really hurt us because, given the day we had and the pit stop issues and the untimely caution, I still think we could have got back to within the top five. And the whole points scenario would be completely different.”

While the points math can still play out for Truex, Small is looking at this weekend’s race at Martinsville Speedway as a must-win scenario. Motorsport Images

Despite the situation, it’s been business as usual for Small and his team this week. A normal week means long hours at the race shop (he and engineer Jeff Curtis were still there at 1:30am Thursday) and very little sleep.

“I’ll save all that up for the offseason,” Small. “We’ve put a lot of effort in. Obviously, we’ve got a lot of data from the wheel force test last week on the new tire, and we didn’t get all of stuff kind of buttoned up until Monday. So, it’s been quite busy the last couple of days just trying to filter through all that and do all the sim work and make sure we have everything in the right spot.”

It’s mathematically possible for Truex to erase a 17-point deficit. Truex will have to leapfrog Hamlin, Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney. The final transfer spot is held by Blaney. However, Small said Martinsville feels more like a must win.

“I feel like we just have to go and win,” Small said. “There’s really only one option. There’s not too much stress about it, so it’s just like, what can we do to go and put ourselves in the best position to win? I think it’ll be actually more stressful if you were on a points kind of scenario. But for us, unless something goes kind of sideways for the 12 [Blaney] and the 24 [William Byron], I don’t think we have any other options but to win.”

“Obviously, we’ll have a better idea after qualifying and after the first stage, but we’ve seen the points flip pretty easily at some of the other races, so we’ll have to wait and see. But yeah, I feel like it’ll be us and Denny vying it out for the win…I hope.”

Homestead – JGR’s tale of two races after Hamlin, Truex DNFs

Joe Gibbs Racing heads into the final elimination race of the NASCAR Cup Series postseason with two of its main players sitting on the outside looking in. Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin are both 17 points below the cutline. The duo had …

Joe Gibbs Racing heads into the final elimination race of the NASCAR Cup Series postseason with two of its main players sitting on the outside looking in.

Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin are both 17 points below the cutline. The duo had non-related issues at seemingly the same time Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, both resulting in retirements from the race.

Truex finished 29th with what is suspected to be an engine issue. Under the lap 236 caution, Truex’s No. 19 Toyota began smoking out of the right side and after bringing it to the attention of his crew he was pushed behind the wall.

It had been a rough afternoon for Truex, who started from the pole. He had speed but again seemed to fight the handling of his car, particularly while in dirty air. The team was also bit by an untimely caution on lap 213 when the yellow flew after Truex had already made a pit stop.

The No. 19 was forced to take the wave around, which mired him deep in the field. Fortunately, a quick caution on the restart allowed him to rejoin the leaders. He was running 21st when the mechanical issue struck.

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Coincidentally, the caution where Truex exited the race was brought out by his teammate. Hamlin hit the wall in Turn 1 while running third. It was unclear in the immediate aftermath what caused the issue.

“We tried and it just didn’t work out,” Hamlin said of his day. “Unfortunate for this Sport Clips Toyota team. We really battled back well today – just a tough break.”

Hamlin led 31 laps. He had been battling Ryan Blaney for the lead on the lap 230 restart before falling to third when teammate Christopher Bell passed them both in a three-wide move in Turns 3 and 4.

Truex did not address the media.

“I think it shows you how hard our sport is,” Joe Gibbs said. “We had such a disappointment with the No. 11, Denny, cutting a tire down. I felt like he was fast. Martin qualified on the pole. I thought we had a chance with that car. But just a series of circumstances, then lose the motor. It shows you how hard our sport is because those were two cars that, for a while, for us, were up front.”

Bell was the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver who made the Championship 4 last season. Truex did not make the playoffs but rebounded and won the regular season championship this year. Hamlin was eliminated at Martinsville Speedway, where the series visits next.

Truex’s average finish in the postseason is 20.7. He’s made the Championship 4 on five occasions.

Hamlin’s average finish in the postseason is 14.1. Four times he’s been in the Championship 4.

Truex adds to Toyota’s playoff pole haul at Homestead

Martin Truex Jr. will lead the field to the green flag on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway after earning the pole with a lap of 167.411 mph (32.256 seconds). it is Truex’s second pole of the season and his first in Miami, as well as being the …

Martin Truex Jr. will lead the field to the green flag on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway after earning the pole with a lap of 167.411 mph (32.256 seconds).

it is Truex’s second pole of the season and his first in Miami, as well as being the 500th NASCAR pole for Toyota. Truex also makes it seven out of eight poles for a Toyota driver in the Cup Series playoffs.

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“I feel good; I felt good coming into this round,” Truex said. “I think last week probably didn’t go as well as I thought it was going to or would have hoped. But there was potential – more potential there than we than achieved, so that’s good. And then, coming here, I felt good just because it’s been a good track for us, and we’ve run up front a lot, and it’s just a comfort zone for me, I think, at this kind of racetrack.

“I had confidence. I don’t really expect to get the pole today, honestly, even after practice. I felt like our car was pretty good on the long run, and we needed to make some tweaks to be better for tomorrow, but pretty excited to be on the pole here after that. Didn’t really expect it; was hoping for a top-five and got a little surprise. So, it’s always good when it goes the right way.”

Bubba Wallace qualified second (167.115 mph) with Tyler Reddick qualified third (166.955 mph) to make it a 1-2-3 sweep for Toyota. Wallace had been fastest in practice.

Brad Keselowski was fourth (166.579 mph), ahead of last year’s Homestead winner Kyle Larson in fifth (166.103 mph), and Austin Dillon in sixth (165.894 mph). William Byron qualified seventh (165.853 mph), while Ross Chastain was eighth (165.832 mph), Ty Gibbs ninth (165.817 mph), and Ryan Blaney 10th (165.675 mph).

Denny Hamlin qualified 11th (167.984 mph) and Christopher Bell qualified 13th (167.785 mph). Chris Buescher was the lowest qualifying playoff driver in 17th (166.971 mph).

“We definitely made some really big gains from practice with our fire-off speed with our Fastenal Mustang, so I am happy with that,” Buescher said. “Just missed the second round though with it. At the same time, we needed just a little more there. Maybe a half a 10th, if I am remembering correctly. It was big pickup for us there on those laps.

“Our long run speed was pretty good in practice, it just took us way too long to get to that point to get decent. We had to make some changes that I think we have already started tackling for the qualifying lap and beyond to get going a little quicker but still maintain pace as we get deep into this thing. Good work today.

“There were some rather large changes there to get us in the ballpark and we are there now. We just missed the second round by just a little bit.”

John Hunter Nemechek qualified 24th in the No. 42 Chevrolet. Nemechek is getting his first run with Legacy Motor Club before joining the team next season.

Joey Logano did not make a qualifying lap after crashing off Turn 2 in practice. Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske team is preparing the backup car and he will start at the rear of the field Sunday.

NBC will carry race coverage of the second race in the Round of 8 at 2:30 p.m. ET.

RESULTS

Truex tried to ‘minimize the damage’ in Vegas rollercoaster

The box score of Martin Truex Jr.’s day at Las Vegas Motor Speedway shows plenty of ups and downs, so the Joe Gibbs Racing driver will take his ninth-place finish and move on. He started fourth, finished ninth, led nine laps, averaged a 10th-place …

The box score of Martin Truex Jr.’s day at Las Vegas Motor Speedway shows plenty of ups and downs, so the Joe Gibbs Racing driver will take his ninth-place finish and move on.

He started fourth, finished ninth, led nine laps, averaged a 10th-place running position, fell as far back as 22nd, and battled track position and his car. It was also a battle on restarts not to give up too much to the competition, and being the only driver to stay out at the end of the first stage didn’t help, either.

“It was just trying to figure out how to minimize the damage and hope that we could get a longer run, which we did at the end, which was really helpful,” Truex said of the final stint. “I don’t know what we had going on, but restarting up front, we were pretty good, and then on the long runs, really good – I thought – probably a third-place car, but once we got back there – 16th, 18th, whatever it was – it was just really bad on the restart. I would lose three, four, five spots every time, and then once we got strung out and got going, I would pick them off and work our way forward, but then we would get another caution, and I would lose a couple more.

“It was an uphill battle, but luckily at the end we were able to have a couple of better restarts and at least maintain, and then work our way forward from there. All-in-all, it was OK. The pit call obviously killed us in Stage 2.”

By staying out at the end of the first stage, which ended on lap 80, Truex inherited the race lead. It was short-lived on older tires as the race restarted on lap 87, and teammate Denny Hamlin took the position on lap 92. Truex had fallen to 20th when the caution flew on lap 112.

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“He (crew chief James Small) told me that pretty late around the corner in (Turns) 3 and 4 and my gut reaction was, ‘Don’t do it; don’t stay out,’” Truex said. “I like to listen to my crew chief and do whatever they say no matter what because they know more about what’s going on than you do and usually, the driver’s 90 percent of the time wrong if they make their own decision or go against the crew chief.

“I went with it, but I didn’t feel good about it and then 10, nine laps or whatever here, is a lot on tires. If we would have got a quick caution, it would have worked out great because we had the lead for a few laps. But once I got back to third or fourth, it just dropped like a rock.”

Truex described his car as “terrible” in dirty air and the No. 19 team fought the balance much of the afternoon — issues that Truex felt Saturday, but after being top 10 on the board in practice and putting in a strong qualifying effort, he felt confident he had what he needed for the race.

“We had similar feel issues yesterday, and I was a little bit concerned about it, but we had such good speed I was like, ‘Yeah, whatever,’” he said. “And then, as it always does, those things that you feel in practice that make you nervous show up in the race when the track gets slick and the pace slows down, and your car just feels out of the racetrack, and that’s just what we fought today.

“Not sure what we were missing or what we did different from the last time here because I don’t remember feeling that way the last time, but we’ll look at it all and be better for next time.”

Truex is now two points above the Cup Series playoff grid cutline going into Homestead-Miami Speedway.