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Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. expressed his frustration after missing out on another opportunity to seal a win due to late-race caution on Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at the Kansas Speedway. It was the second time this season that he missed a potential win by a late-race caution.
Martin Truex Jr. was running second and had almost caught his teammate Denny Hamlin for the lead when the caution flag flew for a spin by Kyle Busch with seven laps.
The #19 JGR driver then left, battling for third place with Hamlin and Hendrick Motorsports Chase Elliott at the white flag. His #19 car could only get him as far as fourth place.
Speaking to the media after the race, Martin Truex Jr. expressed his disappointment, saying that he could have caught up and won if there was no late-race caution.
“We were two-wide, and that made me tight off Turn 4; I couldn’t quite get the run I needed to get to the win. I don’t know, just frustrating. We were looking really good until that last caution, as always,” Truex Jr. told Frontstretch about ending of Kansas race.
“We were in position to steal one there. Definitely had the best car, but fought hard all night, made good decisions and made the car better and better. That was great, but always stinks when you see the lead and can’t get it.”
“I just needed to clear the #9 a little quicker” – Martin Truex Jr. on final restart
After taking four fresh tires on the final caution flag stop, the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion came off the pit road in 10th position and opted to restart on the outside of the fifth row.
From there, he had a remarkable turnaround performance, passing several cars on two-lap overtime but couldn’t produce enough speed to get a win. He secured the fourth-place finish.
On what he could have done differently on the restart, Truex Jr. said:
“Just trying to find somewhere to go, you know? Restarting from 10th with four tires is tough to do in two laps. I just needed to clear the #9 a little quicker and needed to get into turn 3 single file, and then I probably had a chance.”
Martin Truex Jr. has been consistent in 2024, and it’s only a matter of time before he finds his first win of the season. He's second in the Cup Series points table with 438 points. He also has four top-5 and seven top-10 finishes in 11 races.
Catch the JGR veteran in action at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, May 12.
