Martin Truex Jr. had the freshest tires for time beyond regulation on Sunday evening at Kansas Speedway, and his valiant cost received him to fourth place within the AdventHealth 400.
“Simply looking for someplace to go, you recognize?” Truex stated. “Restarting from tenth with 4 tires is hard to do in two laps. I simply wanted to clear the 9 (Chase Elliott) a little bit faster and wanted to get into (Flip) 3 single file, after which I in all probability had an opportunity.
“However we have been two-wide and that made me tight off Flip 4 – couldn’t fairly get the run I wanted to get to the win.”
Truex was the primary driver on 4 tires for the restart. He got here off pit highway in tenth place and selected to restart on the skin of the fifth row (which saved him tenth). On the white flag, Truex was in a battle for third place with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott and cleared them each by means of Turns 1 and a couple of.
Off the ultimate nook, coming to the checkered flag, Truex appeared to have a run on the 2 leaders of Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher. Nevertheless, these two wound up in a photograph end and Truex was nipped on the end line by Elliott, who ran with him side-by-side down the frontstretch.
The 402-mile race might need ended in another way for Truex had it not been for the ultimate warning. Truex, who had pitted beneath warning with 70 laps to go, was catching Hamlin, who was in fuel-save mode as a result of he’d stayed out beneath that warning. The run began with 62 laps to go, and Truex restarted exterior the highest 10.
Truex moved to fifth place with 35 laps to go, was third with 10 laps to go, and overtook Larson for second place two laps later. He had almost caught Hamlin when the warning flew with seven laps to go that despatched the sector down pit highway for time beyond regulation. The 9 drivers who got here off pit highway in entrance of Truex had all taken two tires.
“I don’t know, simply irritating,” Truex stated. “We have been trying actually good till that final warning, as all the time. I don’t know what we have to do to shut one out, however the guys did a very good job with our Auto-House owners Camry. We have been in place to steal one there.
“(We) undoubtedly had the very best automotive, however fought laborious all evening, made good selections and made the automotive higher and higher. That was nice, however all the time stinks while you see the lead and may’t get it.”
Truex completed seventh within the first stage and fifth within the second stage. He didn’t lead a lap in Sunday’s race.
