Martin Truex Jr. reacts to running out of gas short of finish line: ‘One of them years’

Martin Truex Jr. ran out of gas during the final lap at the NASCAR Cup Series race in Sonoma and was not happy about it. While speaking with Frontstretch, the 43-year-old driver expressed his frustration with running out of gas after coming close to a P2 finish.

“It stinks. We worked hard all day to have a good finish and clearly in second,” Truex said, “run out of gas in the last corner. I don’t know. It’s one of them years.”

Truex’s crew chief, James Small also shared his thoughts on the incident. He told Frontstretch, “I thought we were at least half a lap,” until they had to concern themselves about gas. Small added that the team was “an eighth of a lap short.”

"One of them years."@MartinTruex_Jr and crew chief James Small comment on running out of fuel on the final corner at Sonoma.

📹: @stephen_stumpf pic.twitter.com/60uT4Qy8VF

— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) June 9, 2024

Despite the tough finish, Small was happy with how the car ran on a tough track. “It was good considering we were back to dead last after we got turned around there at the start of the race,” he said. “It worked out good for us the way the strategy played out and all the cautions to have a shot to win. Unfortunately not ideal and move on.”

Because Truex ran out of gas, he earned a P27 finish at Sonoma Raceway. This is the second consecutive week a driver ran out of gas at the final lap as it happened to Ryan Blaney during the final lap at Gateway which cost him a victory.

It’s been a tough couple of weeks for Truex as he finished 34th at Gateway. Overall, the 2024 season has been strong for the veteran driver as he’s earned seven top-10 finishes and four top-five finishes. But Truex is still looking for his first win of the season to solidify his spot in the playoffs.

Will Martin Truex Jr. retire after the 2024 season?

One of the other things going on with Truex is his future in NASCAR is up in the air as he could retire after this season. Before the Sonoma race, Truex spoke to Claire B. Lang about the pressure of making a decision.

“I don’t know yet. We’ll see,” Truex said. “It’s never enough time in this sport because you need to start planning for next year like now. It’s a tough situation to be in where I’m at right now, trying to figure out six, or eight months ahead of time. But it is what it is. There’s a lot of people that have to make plans and you don’t want to mess them up. You gotta be looking out for everybody else in these situations.”