As was the case last week at Kansas Speedway, Martin Truex Jr. was in position to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
But Truex’s fortunes in Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway were no better than they were a week earlier at Kansas, where he led 172 laps only to be done in by a pit road gaffe.
After pitting on Lap 349 of 400, Truex ensured he would restart fourth in the preferred outside lane by letting the Carl Edwards precede him off pit road. But the outside lane proved to be unlucky when Jimmie Johnson’s Chevrolet failed to launch in front of Truex.
Sandwiched between the Chevys of Johnson and Kevin Harvick, Truex’s Toyota was damaged in the melee, and though he recovered to finish ninth, his winning chances were gone.
“Just one of those deals – wrong place, wrong time,” said Truex, who led 47 laps before the accident. “Frustrating, but we got a top 10 out of it, so not too bad. The guys on pit road did a great job fixing it. Just hate that it happened.
“I wanted to be fourth on that restart, but I didn’t want to be fourth that bad. I should have been third, so maybe I should have not let the 19 (Edwards) beat us off pit road. I don’t know how you can see those things coming. All in all, good day – just bad finish.”
Source: NASCAR Wire Service
