NASCAR insider comments on Martin Truex Jr's retirement following disappointing finish at Sonoma

Martin Truex Jr. could not add to his four Sonoma race wins as Kyle Larson grabbed his third Cup Series win of the season. Things only got worse for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, as he ran out of gas in the final few inches of the race. What seemed to be a second-place finish quickly dropped him to a miserly 27th-placed finish at the Wine Country.

Truex was very close to ending his 41-race winless drought after he overtook Chris Buescher for the lead with 9 laps to go. However, a hunting Kyle Larson forced a mistake out of the NASCAR veteran to pass him in the same lap for the lead. With much fresher tires, Yung Money never really looked back after taking the lead.

Moreover, NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass also discussed Martin Truex Jr.'s future post-race at Sonoma. He said (via Fox Sports):

"I don't know if that means a whole lot. I think the fact that he's running near the front, the fact that he's, you know, top five of points. That's performance that he likes and if he gets to the playoffs, he can be a contender. So, I don't know if it has a huge impact on his decision."

Pockrass continued:

"I know Joe Gibbs wants a decision. They wanna be in line for potential replacements and don't want to lose out on anyone. I think there'll be a decision soon. I kind of lean towards that this will be his last year but I sure as heck ain't going to Vegas to put any money on it."

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Martin Truex Jr was confused at the team's decision to not save fuel

#19 drive Martin Truex Jr couldn't comprehend his team's decision to not save some fuel towards the end of the Sonoma race. The JGR driver admitted that catching Larson after his pass was always going to be a long shot.

Martin Truex Jr's Toyota stopped right before the finish line and barely crossed the checkered flag. The former NASCAR champion said (Quotes via Racer):

"I’m not sure why we didn’t try to save a little at the end. I was not going to catch or pass him.

"It’s a shame that we went around the last corner and went from second to wherever we finished. We battled and did a good job. We were going to have a good day, but just one corner short.”

Martin Truex Jr's Wine Country performance certainly showed he still has what it takes to fight his rivals for race wins. However, whether he would want to continue for 30+ races in a season, only time will tell.