Entering the NASCAR playoffs at Darlington as the regular season champion, Martin Truex Jr. ended the race in a disappointing 18th place. Struggling for most of the weekend, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has a healthy points cushion to make it into the next round but knows he cannot afford any more lapses like he did in the opener.
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Truex entered the round 28 points above the cut-off line as the leader and is now in the sixth position and 25 points above the safety mark. Speaking ahead of Kansas, the 2017 Cup champion remains confident that the team is in the right place to make a run for the title.
Martin Truex Jr. admits he was not good in the playoff opener
During the Kansas media session, Truex was asked if there was a different feeling in his camp now that five drivers were ahead of him in the standings. The #19 driver shot down that sentiment, instead choosing to focus on owing up to his own bad performance last week and wanting to make amends this week.
“We didn’t do a good job, I didn’t do a good job last weekend. Uh, it was a really struggle of a race. Issues we had in practice transferred over and you know we probably didn’t make the best decision on how things played out.”
“It was a tough one but I feel great about coming here and you know, we’re in a great spot so we need to just go out and execute tomorrow.”
Truex’s last win at Kansas came in 2017, the season he won his only Cup Series title. In the Kansas race earlier in the season, Truex finished 8th, a result he wants to improve upon this Sunday to gather some momentum before the round of 12 starts after Bristol.
Martin Truex Jr. does not want to retire as long as he feels he can win
Much of the 2023 season was overshadowed by Truex’s future in NASCAR as his contract was set to expire at the end of the season. So what actually pushed the JGR driver to come back for another year?
“I could not find a reason why I shouldn’t keep racing. It was really how simple it was. Feel like we can win every week, Feel like we can win a championship this year, next year, whenever and that was really the deciding factor.”
Fair reasoning, considering the season he has had. After a disappointing 2022 season that saw him missing the playoffs, Truex has been incredibly consistent this year, his three wins leading to a regular season championship and establishing him as a favorite to go the whole way.
