Martin Truex Jr.’s season has taken a rough turn, according to multiple NASCAR sources. A promising driver early in the year, Truex’s performance has declined significantly as the season has progressed, culminating in a dismal 35th-place finish in the Cup Series playoff opener at Atlanta. Heading into the next race at Watkins Glen, Truex finds himself 19 points off the starting line, a worrying position for the veteran driver.
His current woes are compounded by a run of poor results and a winless record for the season.
Statistically, the situation is bleak: Truex has only had one top 10 since Nashville in late June, and his last top 5 was in Kansas in early May.
Even more telling, he has finished 24th or worse in ten of the last 13 races, with the last six all finishing outside the top 20.
Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images
“This is not a driver and team that I trust at all. They haven’t been able to score stage points, they don’t have momentum, they’re not running well, they don’t have a lot of speed in their race cars. They’re going in the wrong direction at the wrong time, and that’s been the case for a while,” The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi noted on “The Teardown” podcast.
Bianchi then explained:
“This year we went from a very promising season, with Martin Truex Jr. looking like he was in the championship race, to now the question is, is he going to get out of the first round? Is he going to win a race in his last year?”
“And this playoffs have been so different for Martin Truex Jr. than the last few years. Most years, he’s come into the playoffs with just a bunch of playoff points where he’s been able to get away with it. [some hiccups].
“Last year was a good example: a horrible first round, it didn’t matter. He had all those playoff points and was still able to advance to the next round. This year, he doesn’t really have any playoff points, and he has no safety net. Now he goes to Watkins Glen and Bristol, and would you say that’s a surefire way to win?”
Despite these rather negative assessments, not all experts are dismissing Truex’s chances. Jeff Gluck, also of The Athletic, provided a more optimistic view, suggesting that Truex can still qualify for the round of 16 without necessarily having to win at Watkins Glen or Bristol.
“I wouldn’t panic yet and say, ‘We have to win Watkins Glen or Bristol.’ No, I think he can do very well. 19 points is not much,” Gluck said.
Truex’s recent decline has put his season under the microscope, and the upcoming races at Watkins Glen and Bristol will be very important to exploit. Of course, the pressure on the driver and the team has arguably never been greater.
