(Photo: Bobby Krug | The Podium Finish)
MADISON, Ill. — Martin Truex Jr. got behind the eight-ball because of an errant pit stop after the conclusion of Stage 1 but battled back to score a top five in the Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway.
Truex, the 42-year-old from Mayetta, New Jersey, came down pit road for service after Stage 1 but got sent to the rear for removing equipment. When Truex pulled his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing machine out of his pit box, the gas can didn’t disengage and left the box with him.
Stacked in traffic and dirty air, Truex had to drive through the field and got up to 11th on Lap 145, which concluded Stage 2. Truex also had a piece of brake rotor in his grill which affected the driveability and speed of the car. Several cars blew brake rotors throughout Sunday’s scheduled 240-lapper, but Truex reported to his team that the rotor came off the Carson Hocevar machine that crashed out of the race on Lap 92.
With five laps to go, Truex got up to seventh when Bubba Wallace slapped the wall and brought out a caution to set up NASCAR Overtime. He lined up for the two-lap dash fourth on the inside, and thanks to a strong restart from eventual winner Kyle Busch, the line kept moving through Turns 1 and 2. Truex cleared Daniel Suarex through Turn 2 and nabbed Ryan Blaney in the same spot on the white flag lap to come across with his fourth top five and seventh top 10 of the campaign.
(Photo: Travis Haston | The Podium Finish)
“We had a really strong Auto Owners Insurance Camry,” Truex said after the race. “Started off the race near the front and stayed there through Stage 1 and thought we could get a little bit better and maybe have a shot at the couple, three in front of us. We had a pit road penalty and had to go to the back, and it was just an uphill climb from there.
“Just really tough to get through the field. We got some damage from when someone’s brake rotor exploded, that slowed us down even more. Really with all we went through today, a top-five is a really good day for us. I’m proud of the effort.”
JGR flexed its speed all afternoon as Denny Hamlin came home with a runner-up and Christopher Bell finished just outside the top 10 in 11th. Ty Gibbs finished 20th.
Truex’s fifth-place result is his second top five in a row and his fourth top 10 in five races dating back to his win at Dover Motor Speedway. He improved one spot from fifth to fourth in driver’s standings after Ross Chastain dropped four spots with his second consecutive 22nd-place finish.
The Cup Series heads west to Sonoma Raceway on Sunday for the Toyota/Save Mart 350. In 16 starts on the 12-turn, 1.99-mile road course, Truex has three wins.
