Truex loses out at Michigan despite "unbelievable car"
There's no question that Martin Truex Jr. had the fastest car at Michigan but still, Victory Lane eluded him.
Truex appeared to be unstoppable throughout the 200-lap race. At one point, he passed nearly a dozen cars on the alternate strategy and stole the Stage 2 win from Daniel Suarez right at the finish line.
He managed to run down Chris Buescher through the final cycle of pitstops, but once he got there, passing the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford proved to be a nearly impossible task.
Truex got alongside Buescher with ten laps to go, but nearly spun on entry into the corner. He quickly regained the lost the time, but again, could not find a way around the race leader.
"I think we needed maybe a little bit longer run to wear the tires some more," he said post-race. "I feel like we were a little better. It's hard to pass the leader on equal tires.
"We had an unbelievable car today. Hats off to everybody that puts in the work on these things ... It was a rocket. The leader in clean air is really, really hard to pass. Just didn't quite have enough. All in all, a good day."
Martin Truex Jr, Joe Gibbs Racing, Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry and Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing, DoorDash Toyota Camry
Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images
Although he leaves Michigan without a win, he further solidifies his place atop the regular season points standings. The veteran driver recently revealed that he will be back in 2024 to drive the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota once again.
It follows a summer where the 43-year-old has been in top form, and shows no signs of slowing down.
"We're excited. Every week we feel like we have a shot to win. That's all I can ask for. Exciting coming to the track every weekend knowing what these guys are going to bring me.
"Hopefully we can keep it up. It would have been nice to get a win today, but all in all it was a good day. Strategy kind of shook us up a little bit. We were luckily able to get our track position back all day just because of our speed."
"Man, that one more stinks. Tough to get a win here. We've been really good in the past. Just can't get it done. Hopefully, I don't know, maybe next year."
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