“We keep f****,” Martin Truex Jr. lashed out at his new crew chief mid-race at Michigan
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James Small and Martin Truex Jr.
Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney have been in a peculiar situation in the 2022 season as the duo though remained winless but was consistently in the top 10 to ensure their spot in the championship table top 10, which wasn’t enough to cement playoff spots. With 15 different drivers already getting to the victory lane, Blaney is the only winless driver who is in the playoff spot, which he can lose in any of the three coming races.
The Toyota Camry’s were impressive at Michigan as Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell started the race P1 and P2 while Denny Hamlin showed his brilliance by securing the P3 at the end, so Truex Jr. had the car to go for the win at Michigan but the No:19 Joe Gibbs Racing veteran wasn’t at his best to use the opportunity to the fullest.
Martin Truex Jr. was on the right track to having a strong run for a win until the final restart where he lost a few track positions whereas his rival Kevin Harvick, who took over Truex’s playoff spot, surprised everyone with his impressive advance and later the victory over Bubba Wallace.
Just before the final restart commenced there was a heated argument that took place between Truex Jr. and his new crew chief James Small, the reason being the veteran missing out on positions in the restarts. The altercation between the driver and the crew chief was aired live where both of them are heard using the F-word at each other.
Find out what was the Mid-race argument between Martin Truex Jr. and the crew chief
A frustrated Martin Truex Jr. was heard on the team radio demanding his team to stop pitting as they are not making any headway and yet they keep doing it. He went on to accuse his crew chief of trying to screw cup the rest of the race while trying to get out of the mess they are in right now.
“We can’t pit again. We keep f****** pitting, we ain’t going anywhere. And because it all went bad now you want to pit again and screw up the rest of the race. I’ve lost it where we’re at here. That’s all,” Martin Truex Jr. said.
James Small, the new No:19 crew chief didn’t hold back his anger as he pointed out that they are not good enough in the restart as they are losing track positions while every other team is gaining in the track. Martin Truex Jr. replied to his crew chief’s words saying they have got as many as they can with the car.
“We’re f****** bad on restarts. Everybody else on the same strategy manages to keep going forward and we go backward with every restart,” James Small said.
“We got to get as many as we can now,” Martin Truex Jr. replied.
After some time, the NBC race commentator Marty Snider reviled some un-aired part of the conversation where James Small told Martin Truex Jr. to listen to him and restart in the position, he wants him to be as it will only help him in the race.
“James Small did tell Martin, ‘Listen, when we give you a number, that means that’s where I want you to go on the restart. Please listen to me. It’ll help everybody,” Marty Snider recalled.
Is it the end of the line for Martin Truex Jr. or will he be able to bounce back and get the all-important win in the coming races?
Also read: “Hate it. Hate it for our team. Sucks,” Bubba Wallace on his Michigan P2 as he “failed everybody”
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Justin P Joy
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