Kyle Petty says Martin Truex Jr. needs to find early-season spark again

Where art thou, Martin Truex Jr.? That’s the question Kyle Petty is asking as the NASCAR Playoffs moved to the Round of 8 after last weekend.

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series regular season champion has been missing in action for the last six races, but has survived to make it to the Round of 8. After examining the Charlotte ROVAL on Sunday, Petty took some time to elaborate on Truex’s struggles, and predicted we could see a return to form with everything on the line.

“The guy I want to talk about is Martin Truex. Martin Truex, where have you gone man, where have you gone? The eleven races leading up to the Playoffs, Martin Truex was hot. Smoking hot. Out of eleven races, he won two of them. Only finished outside the top five or ten twice. That’s an amazing streak, when you look back on it,” Petty explained. “When we get to the Playoffs, cold. Martin Truex has no top tens, has not even sniffed the top fifteen in the Playoffs. That’s crazy to me. Here’s a guy who we had going all the way to Phoenix. All the way to the championship. Back in June and July. Now? Crickets. We don’t even hear him mentioned as a guy. Is there a switch? I think there’s a switch. Because obviously he hit that switch midsummer, and that switch has gone off, sometime as the Playoffs started. They can hit it again. They can get hot, and Martin Truex is that kind of driver.

“But the interesting thing to me is Martin Truex is a past champion, and Kyle Larson is a past champion. If we look at the first round of the Playoffs, we saw Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano, two past champions, sent home. Second round of the Playoffs, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski, sent home. So that’s four in the first two rounds. We only have two remaining. Will these two champions be sent home in the Round of 8? That’s going to be the interesting thing to see, because we could roll into Phoenix with four, four new contenders and a brand new champion for 2023. Now wouldn’t that make this year a great year?”

Alas, the NASCAR world knows the talent is there for Truex. Whether it’s a confidence issue or something else, the No. 19 team is in a rut, but we’re not doubting their ability to come out swinging.

Martin Truex Jr. can put all question to bed with a victory at Las Vegas on Sunday. If he’s able to, he’ll clinch his spot in the Championship 4, but time will tell if he can get back to form this weekend.