“It s**ks, but it was a tough day”: Martin Truex Jr. sums up a frustrating evening for him at the Wine Country after Sonoma Cup race
Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway tuned out to be a disappointing outing for Martin Truex Jr. He was in a position to secure a strong podium finish, but his #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota ran out of fuel while running second on the final lap of the road course race.
Due to empty fuel, the four-time Sonoma winner dropped through the field losing 25 positions and ended up finishing 27th. At a snail’s pace, he reached the finish line and was the last car on the lead lap.
Martin Truex Jr. left frustrated after losing a second-place position. Reflecting on missed opportunity and not saving enough fuel in the end during the post-race interview, Truex Jr. said (via nbcsports.com):
“I’m not sure why we didn’t try to save a little at the end. I was clearly not going to catch the 5 or pass him. It’s a shame that we went around the last corner and went from second to wherever we finished,”
“It sucks, but it was a tough day, and we had a good car. We battled and did a good job. We were going to have a good day, but just one corner short,”
Martin Truex Jr. looked primed for a fourth Sonoma victory after taking the lead from Chris Buescher with nine laps to go. However, Kyle Larson soon took control of the race on fresher tires, passing Truex Jr. and Buescher for his third win of the season.
Martin Truex Jr. recounts the challenges and efforts of the Sonoma race
The Sonoma race was not easy for the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion. He spun out after being hit by Australian Supercars driver Will Brown earlier in the race on lap eight. Afterwards, he worked his way to regain the track position.
Reflecting on his Sonoma race, Truex Jr. said (via nbcsports.com):
“Got spun out early and had to work hard to get some track position back. James [Small] did a good job on our strategy. Our car was pretty good out front. Thought we were going to have a shot to win there and just couldn’t quite get by the 17 (Chris Buescher) quick enough.”
“I finally cleared him; I made a mistake and the 5 (Kyle Larson) was right there to pounce and then obviously ran out of gas, so it didn’t matter.”
Martin Truex Jr. has yet to secure his first win of the season to lock his spot in the 16-driver playoff field. The 43-year-old sits fifth in the Cup Series points table with 508 points after 16 races.
