Martin Truex Jr. gets huge ovation for awkward reason at Sonoma
May 2, 2022; Dover, Delaware, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr stands on pit road prior to the DuraMAX Drydene 400 at Dover Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Martin Truex Jr. probably will not love the ovation he got from the crowd at Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350.
Truex went into the last lap running second behind Kyle Larson, but over two seconds ahead of Michael McDowell for third. Truex, however, was dealing with a major problem: he was essentially out of fuel. Sure enough, Truex ran out of gas on the final turn, and his potential second-place finish evaporated as he was left crawling toward the finish line.
Kyle Larson wins at Sonoma! BUSCH GOES AROUND, AND TRUEX RUNS OUT OF FUEL! Chaos!@AlwaysRaceDay pic.twitter.com/lCOGtdAtiQ
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) June 9, 2024
In a rather impressive display of perseverance, Truex managed to coast to the line in order to finish the race. The crowd roared their support for him, and once he finally made it, he got what sounded like a bigger ovation than Larson got for winning.
MTJ makes it to the line! #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/cwYueWs93J
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) June 9, 2024
Truex even had the stadium announcer exhorting him to finish.
Truex appears to be out of gas. Crowd cheering as he inches toward finish line. PA saying “Come on Martin you can do it! Almost there!”
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) June 9, 2024
Truex will probably appreciate the support, but will be deeply unhappy with the circumstances that led to it. It looked like he had second sealed up, but he wound up finishing 27th.
This happened to a different driver last week, too, but Truex was more torturously close to the finish line. He probably wasn’t going to win, but losing out on a top-five finish will certainly sting.