Martin Truex Jr. is not placing blame on Kyle Larson for an incident that took place on pit road late in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Truex was spun while trying to pit on a Lap 245 cycle of stops at the Dixie Vodka 400. The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was having difficulty seeing as he was going down pit road. He saw his stall late and started to slow down. That’s when Larson bumped him, causing him to spin.
Here are two looks at the incident:
Martin Truex Jr. SPINS entering pit road!
He had help from Kyle Larson. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/enJPinUvxs
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 23, 2022
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 23, 2022
Truex Jr. led 28 laps and was the leader entering the stop, but Larson exited the stop as the leader.
Larson won the race for his third win of the season. The driver of the No. 5 Chevy said in a post-race interview with NBC that between the sun and debris, it was very difficult for him to see. He said bumping Truex was an accident, and he apologized to Truex.
Truex’s No. 19 Toyota finished sixth. He discussed the incident after the race and acknowledged he was partially responsible for the matter.
“I definitely slowed down with where I committed to my box,” Truex said. “I seen it late — you can’t see a damn thing down on the pit road here at sunset with everything on your windshield. I turned late and I tapped the brakes as soon as I turned. And he just never lifted. I’m not blaming it on him. I can’t blame it on him; it was half my fault too. I would have thought I’d got a little courtesy of a little tap of the brakes, I mean come on. It is what it is.”
Martin Truex Jr takes the blame for the pit road incident with Larson. Mentioned the sun being an issue visually.
“You can’t see a damn thing down on the pit road here at sunset.”#NASCAR #DixieVodka400 @Frontstretch pic.twitter.com/ZZTgnkhuuw
— Dalton Hopkins (@PitLaneCPT) October 23, 2022
Neither Truex nor Larson remain in the playoff. Entering next week at Martinsville, Joey Logano has advanced to the Championship 4, while Ross Chastain (+19), Chase Elliott (+11) and William Byron (+5) are in position to make the final round.
