Martin Truex Jr. was eliminated from the NASCAR Playoffs’ Round of 12 after the Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, following a pit road speeding penalty that dashed his hopes for advancement.
Throughout the race, Truex consistently ran within the top five, securing crucial stage points. However, his night took a turn when a minor infraction—exceeding the pit road speed limit by just 0.09 miles per hour—ended his chances.
The penalty dropped him to the back of the field, causing him to lose valuable track position, which he was unable to recover on Bristol’s notoriously short and tight track. Reflecting on the incident, Truex spoke to the media after the race:
“It’s really tough, you know. Point zero nine miles per hour, and that kind of screws your whole season up.
“So yeah, I just… 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. But sometimes, you’re just a foot—maybe a foot to the left—and it’s so tricky when you’re going from that curved section to the straight to get your lights right. And it’s on me. Obviously, it’s my mistake.
“Yeah, I mean, they said we were gonna have to run second or third there to have a chance. I don’t know if we could have done it, but it would have been nice to see.
“I’m really sad for my guys—they worked so hard. We had a really strong car tonight, and we did what we needed to do with the stage points. Just hate that I screwed it up. I wish we could have at least seen if we could do it. It would have been fun to have a fighting chance.
“From here, we’ll just move forward, try to race hard, and hopefully get back to victory lane before it’s all said and done.
“You never like to let anybody down, no matter what the situation. So, I hate that I did that .”
