Joe Gibbs addresses Martin Truex Jr.'s and Denny Hamlin’s final overtime restart saga at Richmond 

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway began with the dominance of Martin Truex Jr. and ended with Denny Hamlin’s late-race moves, which helped him claim his second win of the 2024 season.

The Toyota Owners 400 turned out to be a disappointing one for Truex Jr., who led 228 of the 407 laps. He was on the way to his first win of the season, but the last-race misfortunes shattered his hopes of victory, bringing him down to a fourth-place finish.

Martin Truex Jr. accused Denny Hamlin of his move in the post-race interviews and was seen aggressively bumping the #11 car’s rear after the checkered flag.

Speaking with Frontstretch's Trey Lyle in the post-race interview, team owner Joe Gibbs opened up about Truex Jr.’s bittersweet results and how he views the Richmond race final overtime restart saga between the drivers. He admitted the #19 driver had fought hard for the win, and his aggression was understandable.

“Well, I think here's what, happens. These guys put so much into this. They're all, I mean, great competitors. And these things are so hard to win. And so when you have an experience the way Martin did tonight, you know, to race that hard.

"I mean, he drove his heart out. We go that far and then to have a caution with three laps to go, it was devastating,” Gibbs said.

“Happy for Denny, certainly, and everything that happened tonight for him. But then, you know, you see that in Martin, how hard he fought for this and how much you wanted it. But that's part of our sport. It's really hard,” he continued.

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“They are really hard to win” - Joe Gibbs defends Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin

While defending both his drivers, Joe Gibbs said they are very passionate about racing and want to win at any cost for themselves.

Further in the interview, Gibbs added:

“You see these guys when it gets down towards the end of these races, they're going for it because they are really hard to win. They want it for their sponsor. They want it for themselves, their career."

Joe Gibbs admitted that he could feel Martin Truex Jr.’s frustration after missing out on a win.

“And so you really feel for them when they go through a night, you know, like Martin went through this night, you just feel for them,” Gibbs concluded.

Even though Martin Truex Jr. has not won a race he continues to top the Cup series points table with 270 points and two top-fives.