Truex has yet to finish higher than 17th in any of the first six playoff races.
In the Round of 16, he advanced by just a few points at Bristol. In the Round of 12, he escaped elimination by 12pts, beating Ross Chastain.
Although he moves on, it’s been a struggle for the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
“This track has just been a thorn in our side,” said Truex. “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.”
Martin Truex Jr, Joe Gibbs Racing, Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry
Photo by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images
When asked about the key to advancing, the answer was simple: “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.”
The good news for Truex is that the points now reset, and he enters the Round of 8 with a 15-point buffer on the elimination zone.
Winning three races and the regular season title gives him a little breathing room head to Las Vegas.
“That’s the beauty and that’s the thing that sucks about this deal, you know what I mean? I’m sure there’s guys that are upset,” said Truex. “They outran us enough to get in, but they didn’t have the bonus points. It is what it is. I hate that we didn’t run better today or finish better at least. I thought the first two stages maybe our car was pretty decent, but, man, I don’t know what happened. Need to go back and look at that. It wasn’t much fun, but we made it so here we go. We’ll try three more.”