Martin Truex Jr. races under the lights in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 21, 2024. (Photo: Holden Barnes | The Podium Finish)
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Martin Truex Jr.’s retirement has been a central storyline throughout the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season and his successful playoff berth gave hope to many fans that his final season would also produce a second championship victory. However, a disappointing outcome was in the cards for Truex at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night, as a pit road penalty was issued for the No. 19 speeding a slim 0.09 miles per hour over the 30 miles per hour limit.
Truex came into the Bristol race weekend confident about his team’s plan, but still explained the challenges of racing on the high-banked oval in the pre-race media conference. “The hard part about this track is that it changes a lot. You never quite know what you’re gonna get. Are we gonna race the bottom? Are we gonna race the top? Are the tires gonna wear out like they did in the spring or is it gonna be like last fall?
“There’s always a lot of questions when you come here and I think we have a game plan that we feel like is the right way to approach it for us. We’ll just take it one step at a time.”
In addition to the confidence in his team, Truex was calm, cool and collected about the event possibly being his last shot at a Cup Series title. “I wouldn’t say nervous,” Truex said in response to FOX Sports reporter Bob Pockrass asking if he was nervous. “You just kinda wanna get it going, you know?”
Martin Truex Jr. preparing for Cup Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, September 20, 2024. (Holden Barnes | The Podium Finish)
After qualifying fourth for the start of the event, Truex had remained consistent and competitive, ending Stages 1 and 2 in the fourth position and racking up 16 critical stage points. The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Bass Pro Shops Toyota team had a solid run through the majority of their primary sponsor’s 500-lap Night Race. When the final caution of the night waved and the field was about to go down pit road for crucial pit stops, Truex was sitting in second place behind the dominant Chevrolet of Kyle Larson.
On Lap 333, NASCAR officials nailed Truex with the pass-through speeding penalty, setting him back to 26th for the last restart of the night. Truex’s crew chief, James Small, gave his driver the last little piece of advice he could muster. “No option other than to drive the piss out of it,” Small radioed during the last remaining caution pace laps.
Truex was able to salvage a 24th place finish, leaving him 21 points under the cutline to make it into the Round of 12. Saturday ended in a disheartening conclusion to his quest for one last championship trophy. Ty Gibbs, Brad Keselowski and Harrison Burton also left Bristol on the outside of the championship field looking in.
“It’s really tough, you know, when it’s .09 miles per hour that, you know, kinda screws your whole chance at a good season up,” Truex said to pit reporter Kim Coon post-race. “So, yeah just, I don’t know how that happened. I didn’t know I was even that close, honestly. I felt like I did the same thing as every other stop.”
“It’s on me, obviously. It’s my mistake. Yeah, I mean, they said we would have to run second or third there to have a chance and I don’t know if we could have done it, but it would have been nice to see.”
When asked what the emotions following the loss were like for him personally, Truex grimaced and responded, “You never like to let anyone down, you know, no matter what the situation, so I hate that I did that tonight.”
Martin Truex Jr. racing in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 21, 2024. (Photo: Holden Barnes | The Podium Finish)
Truex’s 19th and final full-time season in the Cup Series has certainly been full of ups and downs. His triumphant success in making the playoffs with some competitive runs was dashed in the carnage of the first two races at Atlanta and Watkins Glen. He was set back into dangerous territory in the points standings, putting him at risk of losing his championship chances if he did not pull off a victorious night under the lights at Bristol.
NASCAR’s return to the grueling paved 0.533-mile oval served as the end of Truex’s 2024 championship run. He will end his Cup Series career without a win at the Last Great Colosseum, but who knows, he may return to Bristol one day to avenge last night’s misfortune.
