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Martin Truex Jr., the driver of the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota has started the 2023 playoffs as one of the strongest contenders to win the championships with three wins and a regular-season title under his belt. However, Truex Jr. had a very bad post-season as he struggled to find the right combination and momentum.
The 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion has once again survived another difficult round of the playoffs. In the first six playoff races, he has not finished inside the top 15 and has an average finish of 21.3 in the postseason but has moved on to the Round of 8.
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Martin Truex Jr., who had a P20 finish on the Sunday’s playoff race at Charlotte Roval mentioned that he had a tough postseason so far but also feels good heading into the next playoff round.
“I’m definitely excited we’re not coming back here again. This track has just been a thorn in our side. Feel good about moving on and feel good about what we can do the next three races. Some good tracks for us and hopefully we can get something going. It’s been a pretty tough playoffs so far,” Truex Jr. said as quoted by NBC Sports.
“Stage points and bonus points” – Martin Truex Jr. on advancing to the Round of 8
Speaking to the media on pit road at Charlotte ROVAL, the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver admitted that he advanced into the Round of 12 by using the stage and bonus points he accumulated earlier in the season. He also mentioned that he needs to run upfront in the next three playoff races to earn a spot in the championship race at Phoenix.
“Stage points and bonus points. I didn’t create the system. We used it to our advantage. That won’t get us through the next one. The next one, you’ve got to be running up front. Two winners of the next three races are probably going to be Playoff guys that are still going. Need to turn it up and we need to figure it out quickly,” Truex Jr. said as quoted by NBC Sports.
Now that the points reset, Martin Truex Jr. enters the Round of 8 with a 15-point above the elimination line and five points behind leader William Byron in the playoff standings with 4036 points.
