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The Geico 500 at Talladega turned out to be a bit rocky for most Cup Series drivers. Martin Truex Jr., driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry TRD, admitted the race was tough.
Martin Truex Jr. finished fifth for his second top-five finish of the season. The entire day was good until the final lap, when he was surprised with where the guys were coming from.
While describing his experience with the media, Martin said, "It got a little hairy there in the end. He said:
" Guys just made bonsai moves, coming from everywhere, but we were able to put our Bass Pro Shops Camry in a pretty good spot there. We ran up front all day. We are just outnumbered. We are outnumbered. You get up there and run with 10 Chevys and you are the lone Toyota. You can’t do anything. You are stuck. You just have to ride in line. "
He added:
"It was a tough day from that standpoint, but overall, it was a good day." I believe the top five in both stages and the race.We have had a tough couple of weeks, so we needed that, but you always want to win. "
The 2017 Cup Champion had two disappointing races in a row, finishing 22nd in Martinsville and 21st in Bristol. Martin Truex Jr. arrived at Talladega with a long-shot of +3000 after posting a poor performance twice in a row.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was not ready to continue with the trend. He went on to start the weekend on the good side, securing the front row in the lineup. He took the green flag from the outer line of the front row.
Martin Truex Jr.failed to maintain his position at Talladega Superspeedway
Having displayed an imposing performance during the qualifying race, Truex Jr. had to put in more effort to ensure he maintained his pole position.
Despite starting on pole two, Martin Truex Jr. never got a chance to lead even a single lap. The No. 19 driver was struggling to maintain his position, but in most cases, he was being over-powered, stretching to position five as other drivers fought for the lead position.
Truex Jr. was running in the top ten, battling hard for an opportunity to take control. In all stages, he managed to be in the top five, getting a fifth finish in stage one, the fourth position in stage two, and eventually a fifth finish in the last stage.
Truex Jr. walked away with 45 points, bringing the record to 298 wins.
