Martin Truex Jr.’s season has taken a difficult turn according to several NASCAR insiders. Once a driver showing promise at the start of the year, Truex’s performance has significantly waned as the season progresses, culminating in a dismal 35th place finish at the Cup Series playoff opener in Atlanta. Now heading into the next race in Watkins Glen, Truex finds himself 19 points below the cutline—a troubling position for the veteran driver.
Compounding his current woes is a string of lackluster finishes and a winless record for the season.
Statistically, the situation is grim: Truex has only secured one top-10 finish since Nashville in late June, and his last top-five finish was as far back as Kansas in early May.
More tellingly, he has finished 24th or worse in ten of the last thirteen races, with the last six races all ending outside the top-20.
“This is not at all a driver and team that I have any confidence in. They haven’t been able to score stage points, they have no momentum, they’re not running well, they haven’t had a lot of speed in their racecars. They’re going in the wrong direction at the wrong time, and it’s been that way for a while,” remarked Jordan Bianchi from The Athletic during “The Teardown” podcast.
Bianchi further elaborated:
“This year went from really promising in the beginning of the year of like Martin Truex Jr. looks like he’s gonna be in the championship mix, to now, it’s is he gonna get out of Round 1? Is he gonna win a race in his final year?
“And this playoff was so different for Martin Truex Jr. than in recent years. Most years, he’s gone into the playoff with just a cache of playoff points where he’s been able to afford himself [some hiccups].
“Last year was a great example; horrible Round 1, didn’t matter. Had all these playoff points and was still able to move on. This year he didn’t really have any playoff points, and he doesn’t have any safety net. Now, he’s going to Watkins Glen and Bristol, and would you call it a must-win mode?”
Despite these pretty negative assessments, not all experts are writing off Truex’s chances just yet. Jeff Gluck, also of The Athletic, provided a more optimistic viewpoint, suggesting that Truex can still advance to the Round of 12 without necessarily having to win at Watkins Glen or Bristol.
“I wouldn’t panic yet and say, ‘We have to go win Watkins Glen or Bristol.’ Like no, I think he can be just fine. 19 points is not that much,” Gluck said.
Truex’s recent decline has put his season under a microscope, and the upcoming races at Watkins Glen and Bristol will be very important to utilize. Of course, the pressure on the driver and team has arguably never been more intense.
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