Grateful to Make NASCAR’s Playoffs, Truex Wants to Make the Most of It
Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images
Martin Truex, Jr. was so sick about what had just happened, he couldn’t stick around and watch.
Two laps into last Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500, Truex crashed into reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blakey while trying to complete a pass, taking them both out of the final race of the regular season. Blaney, already a winner during the year, was safely in the playoffs. But all of a sudden, the same couldn’t be said about Truex.
“I wanted to leave Darlington, dig a hole and crawl into it for a few days,” Truex recalled. “It was a terrible feeling. I felt like it was the biggest mistake I’ve made in my entire racing career, which was pretty bad given what the day was and what was on the line.
“I was thinking that I just ruined our whole season and the next ten weeks would stink.
“I couldn’t sit there anymore. I took a shower and calmed down for about ten minutes, but I couldn’t watch, so I got out of there.”
Once Truex returned home, he found out all was not lost after all. He scraped his way into the playoffs on points and is seeded 16th in the 16-driver field.
“As soon as I landed, I found out (that I made the playoffs) so it was good to get out of there and think about something else.
“Now, we have a chance for the next ten (weeks) not to stink and it’s going to be fun.
“Obviously, glad we made it. We have a lot of work to do, so ready to get after it.”
Given a new lease on his final full-time season in the Cup Series, Truex is indeed ready to get after it and redeem himself beginning with the Quaker State 400 this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“For sure. Yeah, we’ve all done stupid things, certainly, and that one was at the top of my list. The key is to learn from those things and not just lock and forget about them. Kind of a reminder of how delicate things can be and how quickly they can change and go away. With this format and the way it is, and not having any bonus points per se, it’s a reminder you have to be on it. No mistakes. One mistake and you’re probably done.”
Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota, poses with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship trophy after winning the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19, 2017 in Homestead, Florida.
Having already won a Cup Series championship with Furniture Row Racing in 2017 takes some of the pressure off, Truex believes, as he approaches the playoffs.
“I think it makes it easier, I really do. I don’t know if the other guys who have won it before feel the same, but you just feel less pressure. It's so hard to win in this format. You can have a perfect season but run second at the last race and don’t win it. And that’s a lot.
“If you’ve never won a championship and you want to, you understand just how difficult that is at this sport, at this level,” Truex pointed out. “Everybody knows how hard it is to do. I think you’re just looser, more confident after you’ve done it as you’re like, ‘okay, at least I have one.’ It’s a different mindset.
“We were there five times in the final four, and just got one of them,” Truex continued. “Three of those times, we ran second. Two of those times, we dominated the race. Dominating doesn’t mean anything. (Kyle) Larson dominated Darlington the other night and finished fourth. And that’s the reality. You can dominate nine races, and you can be beat in the 10th and not be the champion. That’s it, it’s really hard to deal with and think about. So, once you have one, it’s a lot easier.”
Truex says he leans on his being a previous champion.
“Yeah, quite a lot, I guess. It’s easier to deal with the emotions when you’ve been through it before and you’re not scared to death thinking your career is going to be over, you’re not going to win a championship, as you already have. It helps keeping you calm and focused and hopefully it’ll help us.”
Considering the season Truex has had in 2024, the driver of the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing is grateful to be in the playoffs. Now that he’s there, he wants to make the most of it.
“I’m happy to be here and excited about it, obviously. I think when the year started, our goal was to go be a champion. Last year, we had a great year and then the playoffs got a little rocky for us and didn’t go as well as we hoped. We're hoping to do better this season and was looking good during the first half of the season, and then we’ve hit a slide here recently. Just looking forward to getting back to what we know how to do, what we know we’re capable of.
“At the end of the day, you want to do a good job and reach your potential. We’ve certainly had a lot of potential lately and not much to show for it.”
“At the end of the day, you want to do a good job and reach your potential. We've certainly had a lot of potential lately and not much to show for it. So that’s been the most frustrating part, but our odds are decent, not the greatest. You know, look at history, all the guys with the points and won the most races this year, they have the lead and better odds. But you never know what’s going to happen, so have to get to work and see what we can do.”
With races at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Watkins Glen International and Bristol Motor Speedway in round 1, Truex either needs to win one of the three races to advance to the second round, or be in the top 12 in points.
“I feel (we can win) at any given track, on any given weekend right now,” Truex said. “I know people probably think I’m crazy saying that because of how things have gone for us lately, but we’ve had the speed to win a lot of races this year and if we can do all the little things right, all the hard things to do right, we’ll have the speed to win.
“One bad race can jeopardize anyone’s chances,” Truex added. “That’s the scary part about this format. As bad as the first round seems, you only need to beat four guys. People lost sight of that, sometimes. They get all crazy and ‘oh my gosh, I have to get this one spot at the end of the race,’ and then you get yourself in trouble and next thing you know, someone’s out. All you need to do is beat four guys, and there’s four guys you need to consistently beat to get to the next one.”
As cliche as it may sound, for Truex it comes down to taking it one race at at time.
“I mean, as crazy as it can be certain places and has been in the past, whatever you do, just race one at a time. Take one at a time and hopefully, you have a good race and go home and say you made it through one and let’s focus on the next one. That's all you can really do.”