Martin Truex Jr. on Darlington wreck: 'Probably the biggest mistake' of my entire racing career
Just a few laps into the Southern 500, Martin Truex Jr. found himself wrecking into Ryan Blaney and both were soon out of the race. It was a moment that the NASCAR champion regrets, but it could have been much worse.
Had Chris Buescher been able to find a few more stage points on Sunday, Martin Truex Jr. could have been the first one out of the NASCAR Playoffs. He went into the race with a good cushion but saw it almost entirely evaporate from the sidelines.
Truex Jr. spoke with Kelly Crandall of Racer.com ahead of the NASCAR Playoffs. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver did not hold back on how he felt about that wreck.
“It was pretty wild, honestly,” Truex said. “I wanted to leave Darlington, dig a hole and crawl into it for a couple of days. It was a terrible feeling. I felt like it was probably the biggest mistake I had made in my entire racing career, and that’s pretty bad, especially given what the day was and what was on the line.
“Obviously, I’m glad we made it, and we’ve got a lot of work to do. So, I’m ready to get after it.”
Last season, Martin Truex Jr. had a great regular season. Then he had a terrible postseason. While he hasn’t been terrible in the regular season this year, it has been lackluster. Does that mean a strong postseason for the 19 team in Truex’s final playoff run?
However, the last 14 races of the season, Darlington to Darlington, Truex Jr. has an average finish of 23.9. In his final five races of the regular season, Truex had an average finish of 29.6.
Martin Truex Jr. has to turn things around
Looking back on Martin Truex Jr.’s career, the stretch from the Goodyear 400 to the Southern 500 might be his worst 14 race stretch ever. It is at least his worst stretch of performances since his 2009 season for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.
The results we have seen from him this season are unusual, to say the least. The 44-year-old won three races last season. This year, he has won zero races and hasn’t really been a factor or threat to win since the first two months of the season.
There have been moments of bad luck. Running out of fuel at Sonoma was not ideal. Getting into the wrecks of others or having his engine give out, that’s not on him. But there have been days where the 19 team shows up and there is nothing there as far as speed.
Even in the 2022 season when Martin Truex Jr. missed out on the NASCAR Playoffs, he didn’t have a stretch as rough as the one he has been through lately. Is there any way that this team can get things figured out and make a push for the Championship 4?