Martin Truex Jr. Shifts Blame on Joe Gibbs Racing Amid Playoff Star’s Narrow Talladega Escape
What’s Your Perspective On
Has Martin Truex Jr. Lost His Edge, Or Is It Just Bad Luck This Season?
Martin Truex Jr. just can’t seem to catch a good break in his final full-time Cup Series season. After bowing out of the first round of the playoffs, the Joe Gibbs Racing star seems to have lost his bearings altogether. Being one of the experienced race car drivers in the Cup garage, he is expected not to make unforced errors or mistakes. But his trouble on the pit road continued at Talladega Superspeedway as well.
Trying to split the field and work out a strategy, a bunch of Toyota cars head into the pit roads for fuel during the Stage 2 run. This type of strategy is common at the drafting track as it allows the pack to catch up on the field or make progress on their own. However, Martin Truex Jr. and his #19 team were not on the same wavelength in their decision to pit.
The #19 Toyota Camry was one of the last cars to make the turn towards the pit lane. In a desperate attempt to maintain the pit lane speed, Truex Jr. spun his tires and lost control of his race car. Slipping and sliding, he barely missed hitting his teammate Denny Hamlin. “You just told me way too late. Everyone’s waving but me. Why did we wait so long there, James?” This was Truex Jr. complaining to his team on the radio.
Although the veteran driver is running in his final season, fans didn’t cut him any slack after he was looking to point the fingers at his mistake on the pit road.
Martin Truex Jr. is often the architect of his downfall
Having made the playoff on points, the driver of the #19 car has never looked confident in his ability to win a race this season. Speed hasn’t been the issue for MTJ, but decision-making and executing the races cost him dearly. Running in his last full-time Cup Series season, he is looking to go out on a winning note, but with such mistakes, he’s only going to dig a deeper hole for himself. Until his P3 finish in Kansas last weekend, he was on an eight-race with a 24 or worse finish. “Sums up his season.”
What’s your perspective on:
Has Martin Truex Jr. lost his edge, or is it just bad luck this season?
At Bristol, he was in a commanding position in terms of getting enough points in the bag to advance to the next round. However, he missed his markers completely for speeding on the pit road on lap 333 of the final stage. And he wasn’t able to recover as the race went green without any cautions. Without the pressure of proving himself or running for the championship, he should’ve been able to execute well in the upcoming race. But to see the veteran driver fluff his lines once again, this fan wrote, “Unreal.”
Ever since Chase Briscoe was announced as his replacement mid-season, MTJ seems to have adopted a laidback attitude. He’s been off the pace, mistakes have been rampant, and he does not seem to force the issue for a win. Is he already thinking about his retirement knowing that he still has races to compete in? Well, this fan believes he’s mentally not in it. “Martin just wants to go fishing man…”
Spotters and crew chiefs can only do so much to help their drivers. In MTJ’s case, he did have a late call on the radio to head towards the pit, but he could’ve used his judgment and not overdrive his entry. This rampant streak of mistakes hasn’t fared well for him, and this race fan didn’t pull any punches in calling out the veteran driver. “ran out of skill once again.”
This was a scheduled pit stop in the green lap cycle to only take the fuel and catch up with the lead pack. However, MTJ lost his position and the draft after delaying his pit cycle, putting him at a disadvantage. Although most of the fans have lost faith in him, a few of those who were supporting him felt disappointed to see him struggle and highlighted his curse with Superspeedway racing. Which was his inability to win either at Daytona or Talladega throughout his Cup career. “Just couldn’t have one last clean plate race, man 😭”
Martin Truex Jr. has only five more races to overturn his misfortunes of 2024. But at this rate, it’s hard to see him get back in the victory lane.
