BRISTOL, Tenn. — Martin Truex Jr.’s Last Full-Time Cup Season Ends Without a Championship Run
For Martin Truex Jr., one of NASCAR’s most celebrated drivers, his final full-time season in the Cup Series won’t culminate in a championship victory. The question that remains now is whether Truex can still find a win before he hangs up his helmet at the end of the season.
Saturday night’s dramatic cutoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway marked the end of the road for Truex’s playoff hopes. He was among four drivers eliminated from championship contention after a race packed with high-speed action and intense pressure. Among those eliminated were two former NASCAR Cup Series champions — Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski — as well as Ty Gibbs, a rising star and teammate to Truex at Joe Gibbs Racing, and Harrison Burton, who also saw his title ambitions come to a premature end.
Truex struggled throughout the night, ultimately finishing in 24th place, marking his eighth consecutive race where he placed 20th or worse. His disappointing run at Bristol left him 21 points below the critical cutline, sealing his fate for the 2024 playoffs.
“Lately, I’ve been getting used to dealing with disappointment,” Truex admitted on pit road after the race, the frustration evident in his voice. “It’s tough. But we’ve got seven more races ahead of us. The goal now is to go out there with this team and hopefully snag a win — that would be incredible.”
Truex’s night took a turn for the worse when he was penalized for speeding on Lap 333 during the final stage of the race. With no caution flags thrown in the final 163 laps, he couldn’t make up the lost ground. He explained that he was just .09 mph over the pit road speed limit in one section, a minuscule margin that led to the costly penalty.
“It’s such a fine line,” Truex said, recounting the error. “You’re talking about an eighth of an inch in that section, and I was just over. That’s what happens when you’re pushing it a little too hard, I guess.” Unfortunately, this marked Truex’s sixth pit road speeding penalty of the season, a statistic that has haunted his championship run.
Truex wasn’t the only driver whose playoff hopes were dashed by a pit road mishap. Ty Gibbs, who showed great potential throughout the season, also fell victim to a pit road penalty that severely impacted his race. Gibbs was hit with the penalty after stopping at the end of the first stage, a move that prevented him from scoring any points in the second stage. This error cost Gibbs dearly, leaving him 11 points short of advancing to the next round of the playoffs.
“The speeding penalty is completely on me,” Gibbs said after finishing in 15th place. “We’re running so close under the lights, and I just pushed it too far. It’s unfortunate, but it’s my fault.”
While Truex and Gibbs faced their playoff exits due to pit road penalties, Brad Keselowski and Harrison Burton had different issues that derailed their championship dreams. Keselowski, a former champion who knows the taste of victory at the highest level, simply didn’t have the speed to compete. After finishing 26th, Keselowski acknowledged that despite running as hard as possible, they couldn’t find the pace they needed.
“We gave it everything we had, but there wasn’t enough there,” Keselowski said. “We executed everything we could on pit road and took the chances we had to take, but at the end of the day, we just needed to be faster.”
For Harrison Burton, his night ended in frustration after his car lost power steering. This mechanical issue forced him into the garage, eliminating any chance of advancing in the playoffs. Burton shared that the steering issue began earlier in the race but progressively worsened.
“By the last 60 laps I ran, the steering was completely gone,” Burton said after finishing in 35th place. “It got to the point where I couldn’t make corrections anymore, and my arms were so exhausted that I just couldn’t keep going.”
Despite the tough break, Burton praised his team for their quick work in the garage. They managed to replace the steering rack and install a new pump, allowing him to gain a few positions as other drivers encountered their own troubles. However, it wasn’t enough to keep his championship hopes alive.
“It’s a tough way to end things, but I’m really proud of our team for not giving up,” Burton added. “We fought until the very end, even though it’s obviously a frustrating way to go out.”
With these four drivers eliminated from title contention, the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs continue with an even tighter field as the remaining competitors prepare for the next round. Truex, Keselowski, Gibbs, and Burton now shift their focus to finishing the season on a high note, while the remaining drivers fight to keep their championship hopes alive.
