Truex: "I'm an idiot" after shocking Lap 3 crash at Darlington

On just the third lap of the 367-lap end-cap to the regular NASCAR Cup season, Martin Truex Jr. was racing to the inside of William Byron for the sixth position. He lost control, snapped back up the track, and slammed into Ryan Blaney in a shocking crash. Both cars were unable to continue. Despite sounding distressed on the radio, Blaney was checked and released from the infield care center. 

Truex, the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion, immediately got on the radio to take the blame: "I'm an idiot," he said. He had a comfortable 58-point margin entering the race, but it was nearly erased in that single moment.

"It was all my fault, all my doing," said Truex after being released from the infield care center. "I got a run on the 24 [Byron] and went to the inside and thought everything was going fine and the car just took off and I ran into him. Obviously, that was on me. I hate it for my guys, Bass Pro Shops, Toyota, everybody. We had a phenomenal race car, and I know this is like the longest race of the year — just a dumb mistake on my part.”

This is Truex's final full-time as a NASCAR Cup driver announcing that he will step out of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at the end of the 2024 season. It's his final chance to earn a second Cup title, but an early exit at Darlington now puts him in serious playoff jeopardy. Last year, he won the regular season title, but now sits winless through the first 26 races.

“Yeah, I mean, it sucks," added Truex. "We’ve had a miserable two months. Fast cars and nothing to show for it. Again tonight — tonight was on me. Sorry to my team and all the guys who work so hard.”

Truex said it 'surprised' him when the car got sideways on fresh tires, lamenting: "(I) wrecked myself, wrecked [Ryan] Blaney. It’s inexcusable ... I know better.”

UPDATE: After Stage 2, the lack of stage points accumulated by his rivals locked Truex into the playoffs.