DOVER, Del.—That last thing Martin Truex Jr. would have wanted was for his No. 78 Chevrolet to be pulled off the grid before the start of an elimination race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
But that’s what happened minutes before cars were set to roll off pit road for the start of the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway Sunday. NASCAR officials deemed that the body of Truex’s car failed to conform to templates.
Accordingly, Truex’s crew had to fix the car before the race, and Truex was sent to the rear for the start. After dodging an early wreck involving Jeb Burton and Josh Wise, Truex worked his way through the field, running as high as third after a two-tire call and ultimately finishing 11th.
The result was good enough to propel Truex into the 12-driver Contender Round of the Chase. It wasn’t a comfortable day for the Furniture Row Racing driver, but the end result was positive.
“Yeah, we had to start last,” Truex said after the race. “It is what it is. We moved on. We did what we had to do. It wasn’t a great day for us. It wasn’t a great weekend. We have been just struggling trying to get the thing turning. All in all, we had good speed when we would get track position.
“We would lose track position, and being in long lines on the restarts, then we couldn’t really go anywhere. It was really difficult to pass today. We had good speed out front—top-five speed—and then just never really could get back there once we got back in traffic.”
According to NASCAR officials, Truex will face no additional sanctions beyond the demotion to the rear of the field on Sunday.
Source: Reid Spencer/NASCAR Wire Service
