Martin Truex Jr ‘gave it a hell of an effort’ to finish runner-up at Bristol Motor Speedway

Martin Truex Jr fell just short of a win in the Food City 500.

The NASCAR Cup Series veteran had to settle for second place behind the race winner and his team-mate, Denny Hamlin.

The 43-year-old spoke to Fox Sports after the race about how he dealt with the extreme tyre wear throughout the race:

“Apparently it is what I needed to have happen here at Bristol to have a shot at winning”.

“I guess this tyre management thing fits into my wheelhouse here at Bristol. But the difference was coming out of the pits so far behind Denny. I had to use mine up more on the last run”.

Martin is yet to win a race in the 2024 season as his last win came last year in the 2023 Crayon 301 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Despite not snatching a race win in a dramatic race the Joe Gibbs Toyota driver had nothing but good things to say about his team and car after the race:

“We gave it a hell of an effort, congrats to them. Our Toyotas are really working well right now, I had a lot of fun today it was a really good run for us here today.”

Even though he has not won a race yet this Series the veteran now finds himself as the joint leader of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series. Truex Jr is now on equal points with Kyle Larson after five races.