"0.2mph can ruin your whole year": Martin Truex Jr. looks back at woeful playoffs run after Martinsville elimination

Joe Gibbs Racing's Martin Truex Jr. was one of three possible cars from the team that could have advanced to the final round of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs at Martinsville Speedway. However, as the 500-lap-long race at "The Paper Clip" panned out, the #19 Toyota Camry TRD driver was one of the few whose hopes of challenging for the title came to an end at the 0.5-mile-long short track.

After having a blistering regular season, Truex Jr. was looking on form for another go at the title this season. The 43-year-old himself admitted to the 2023 season feeling a lot like 2017, which is when his one and only championship came through.

Despite clinching the regular season championship, the start of the playoffs saw a major slump for the #19 crew at JGR, with Martin Truex Jr. advancing onto the Round of 8 partly due to his accumulated points. The final race before Championship 4 saw Truex Jr. finally run out of luck as well as points, with him being knocked out during the Xfinity 500.

Things could have panned out differently for the New Jersey native had an ill-timed pit road speeding penalty not come up for the team. Martin Truex Jr. elaborated on how losing track position meant he could no longer challenge up front. Summing up how the playoffs punish drivers for non-performance, he told sportsnaut.com:

"Some years it feels like it’s your year, some years it feels like it’s not. I just feel we couldn’t do anything right. If it was ever a 50/50 call, it always went against us. A blown engine, a flat tire, you name it, problem after problem. Just kept setting us back, and we couldn’t get no momentum. I think we did a great job today. It was a tiny little error, 0.2mph can ruin your whole year, unfortunately.”

Martin Truex Jr. elaborates on the effect of dirty air during the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville

Having been relegated to the back of the field after a pit road speeding penalty, Martin Truex Jr. elaborated on how running up front is totally different from running mid to rear pack.

He told motorsport.com:

“I felt like we did really good to get back to where we did. You just burn the tires off so much worse back there in the hot, dirty track, dirty air. You’re in more rubber. It’s just a dogfight.”

Meanwhile, NASCAR prepares to crown the 2023 champion next weekend at Phoenix Raceway.