“It’s on me” - Martin Truex Jr. acknowledges his “mistake” amid playoff exit in final NASCAR season

Following Sunday's race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Martin Truex Jr. took responsibility for falling out of the playoff picture. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is in his last full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series. Next year, Truex Jr. will be replaced by Stewart-Haas Racing's Chase Briscoe behind the wheel of the No. 19 Toyota Camry.

Truex Jr. was given a pit road penalty on lap 333 for running over the permissible speed limit by just under one mph. Truex Jr. could probably have gained spots had there been a restart following the penalty. However, the closing 163 laps of the 500-lap event saw no instance of caution and Truex Jr. could not recover from the blow.

Truex said during a post-race interview (via Skewcar)

"It's really tough when it's 0.09mph. That kind of screws your whole chance at a good season up. I don't know how that happened. I didn't even know I was that close, honestly. I felt like I did the same thing as every other stop" [0:11].

He added,

"It's on me, obviously. My mistake. They said that we were going to have to run second or third there to have a chance and I don't know if we could have done it, but it would have been nice to see. Just really sad for my guys," he added (0:36).

Truex Jr. parked his car 24th, picking up 29 points on the way. It was his eighth consecutive finish in 20th place or worse since the Brickyard 400 in July.

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Martin Truex Jr. to pair up with former crew chief for 2025 NASCAR Daytona return

Martin Truex Jr. (right) and Cole Pearn (left) during practice for the 2018 Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Source: Imagn)

Although Martin Truex Jr. will not be seen as a full-time NASCAR driver next year, he has confirmed his entry in the 2025 Daytona 500. This time around, the 44-year-old driver will pair up with his former JGR crew chief Cole Pearn, driving a 23XI Racing car.

Pearn assisted Truex Jr. for five years from 2015 to 2019. In their time together, the duo won the 2017 Cup Series championship, besides winning 24 races. Pearn retired in 2019 and since then has been a consultant with the Toyota team.

Martin Truex Jr. said of Pearn (via ESPN),

"We don't talk very often, but when we do, it's just like old times. He can pretty much read me like a book. He knows exactly what I'm thinking. I don't know...it's just...he's a special guy."

"He's different than anyone I've ever known. He knows everything. He knows the answer to everything. And he tells you things, you're like, 'how'd you know that?'"

Denny Hamlin, who co-owns 23XI Racing alongside NBA star Michael Jordan, reflected on his teammate's NASCAR return saying,

"23XI and (Joe Gibbs Racing) are kind of looking at the options and figuring out what’s the best avenue for it. Certainly, having Martin in the 500 is going to be exciting"

Although there is no official update on the number on his car as of now, Martin Truex Jr. said it would be either #78 or #56, both being numbers he has driven before. Truex Jr. won the sole championship title of his career as the wheelman of the #78 machine.