“If we can keep doing this, we will be in good shape”: In-form Martin Truex Jr. happy with the positives despite not winning in Nashville

Martin Truex Jr. had a strong outing at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday, leading 50 of the 300 laps, but lost the race to Ross Chastain by a margin of 0.789 seconds.

Martin Truex Jr., his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin and eventual race winner Ross Chastain dominated the front field on Sunday, racing back and forth and gaining track position on pit road. In the end, it was Chastain who secured the win. Truex Jr. and Hamlin had to settle with P2 and P3 finishes, respectively.

Speaking on what went wrong in the closing laps at Nashville Superspeedway, during the post-race interview, Truex Jr. stated that he just needed to reclaim the lead from Chastain to win the race. He also admitted that choosing the bottom lane on a restart turned out to be a bad decision.

Truex Jr. said:

“Just needed to get the lead (again). Once we lost it, I probably made a bad move taking the bottom (lane) on a restart. Just too loose in the long runs. I could hang with whoever was leading. Just could never get off the corner good enough to get a move. Just lacking side bite. Overall, just burned the rear tires off too much.”

Despite falling short of the win, the #19 JGR Toyota driver is happy with his efforts. He added:

“Just needed a little bit. Got lots of speed. Just could never get the balance where it needed to be. If we can keep doing this, we will be in good shape.”

---

“I was disappointed not to get the stage win there” – Martin Truex Jr.

Martin Truex Jr., who has enjoyed good form this season, was on his way to securing the Stage 2 win. However, he lost his momentum as caution brought out in the middle of green flag pit stops when the wheel of Tyler Reddick’s 45 Toyota came off.

Expressing his disappointment in not securing the Stage 2 win, Truex Jr. said:

“I was disappointed not to get the stage win there. We had it wrapped up until the tire got away on (Reddick’s car). That's how these things play out. We weren’t quite good enough to take the lead. That was our issue, burning the tires off too much, getting too loose in the long runs.”

Martin Truex Jr. currently sits at the top of the points table with 576 points. He holds three wins this season, including the Busch Light Clash exhibition event.