“You’re Done”: Martin Truex Jr.’s Kansas Controversy Debunked by Senior NASCAR Official

Kansas for Martin Truex Jr. was undoubtedly a disaster. He would’ve hoped to bounce back from the poor result in Darlington, but what he ended up getting was an early exit because of a bigger issue that started with his tire. But a few fingers were raised toward NASCAR in Truex’s Kansas exit.

The questions that were asked, or rather, the confusion that arose, were why Truex’s damaged racecar wasn’t taken to the pit road and instead taken to the garage. After all, under the DVP, he could’ve stood a chance to rejoin the race and salvage something, anything from it, to improve his condition with regard to point standings.

Instead, there wasn’t a chance as his #19 Camry was taken to the garage, and rightly so, as NASCAR’s Elton Sawyer recently explained.

NASCAR official explains why Martin Truex Jr’s racecar was taken to the garage

In a recent appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Sawyer explained why Truex’s racecar was taken to the garage instead of the pit road. He began his explanation by pointing to the Damage Vehicle Policy, or DVP Policy, and what that means. If a racecar makes contact with another car or the wall and it is in a condition to be driven back to the pit road, then the crew has seven minutes to repair the car, get back on the track, and meet minimum speed within seven minutes.

“If you’re not able to drive it back, then you’re done,” Sawyer added as he further explained, “How we arrived at that, more times than not when you can’t drive it back, you have got a serious mechanical issue and in this case, that’s exactly what happened to the #19.”

Sawyer claimed that Truex either had a control arm that was broken or a toe link that was bent or broken. “In that case, if we have to hook to the car, then we’re going to take it to the garage and basically you’re out of the race,” he said.

Elton Sawyer, Senior Vice President of Competition, joined @SiriusXMNASCAR to discuss the circumstances around the No. 19 car at Kansas. pic.twitter.com/Am4VvLBcz4

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 12, 2023

Frustrations from Truex Jr.’s crew chief were understandable, Sawyer claims

Sawyer further explained that they understood the frustration of Truex’s crew chief, James Small, who understands the rule too. But it was just in the heat of the moment and the circumstances that the frustrations seeped out.

“Obviously they went into the playoffs with the regular season championship and accumulated quite a few points. But the first two races hadn’t gone well for them,” he added.

So heading into Bristol, Truex will be treading very carefully but at the same time, he would have to be aggressive. It would be a balancing act for sure, especially considering the first two races of the playoffs for the #19 team.

Moreover, he would also want to shake off memories from last year’s Bristol night race when he failed to complete even half of the race because of a steering rack issue.