Martin Truex Jr. runs out of gas feet before finish line to fall from top-5 to P27 finish
Martin Truex Jr. was tracking towards a P2 finish in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway — all he had to do was execute on the final lap.
Truex did his job, but his No. 19 Toyota had other ideas at the worst possible time. 200 yards shy of reaching the start/finish line, Truex’s car ran out of gas. Making matters worse, the car came to a complete halt. Instead of finishing P2, Truex quite literally limped along to a 27th-place finish with the help of a cheering crowd in the grandstands.
As you could imagine, Truex was not happy after the race.
“Why didn’t you tell me to save fuel at the end?” Truex asked his crew over the radio.
Truex entered Sunday’s race having won three of his last five starts at Sonoma. After an early spin, Truex found himself once again in the thick of things. In the closing laps of the final stage, Truex battled with Chris Buescher for the lead, all while Kyle Larson was coming fast behind them. Larson, who was on fresher tires, quickly closed the gap between him and the leaders, and eventually made it a three-wide battle for the lead.
Kyle Larson passes Martin Truex Jr., Chris Buescher to take lead, win at Sonoma
It didn’t take long for Larson to pass Buescher and then Truex for the lead, which he didn’t relinquish until taking the checkered flag for his third win of the season.
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“It was a great strategy move by Cliff [Daniels] and the team,” Larson said after the race. “Proud of the effort, proud of the preparation. I had a lot of fun today. Once we got going, I was able to make moves through traffic.”
Truex, meanwhile, remains winless on the season despite sitting fourth in the points standings. He remains having work to do to secure a playoff spot, with nine drivers already provisionally locked into the Field of 16 thus far.