The Kansas race was ruined for the #19 team of Joe Gibbs Racing after Martin Truex Jr.’s right rear tire gave way within the first minutes of the race. The former Cup Series champion had to retire from the race and now finds himself in a precarious position in relation to the Cup standings. But the one entity everyone criticized for Truex’s problems at Kansas was NASCAR’s tire partner, Goodyear.

Despite being a long-time partner, Goodyear has had to take a lot of criticism over the years, the bulk of which was dished out by former champion Tony Stewart. After Truex’s crash on the first lap of the race and Kyle Busch’s crash in practice, the tire manufacturer had absolutely nowhere to hide.

NASCAR revealed team radio during Martin Truex Jr.’s crash

That one tire blowout had a huge impact on the Cup Series table. After the Bristol race next week, only 12 out of the 16 drivers will advance to the next round of the playoffs. Martin Truex Jr. was one of the title favorites, but after finishing P18 at Darlington, he needed a good result in Kansas to almost secure his qualification.

However, Truex Jr. now finds himself out of the top 12 with just one race to turn it around, sitting in 13th place, 7 points behind the cutoff. The #19 driver needs a high-point finish in Bristol in order to make it through to the next round. 

Fans were absolutely livid with Goodyear and bashed the tire manufacturer in every way possible. A recent video released by NASCAR suggests otherwise, suggesting that the right rear tire might not have blown out during the race. As the car crashed into the wall, a radio conversation between Truex Jr. and his crew chief, James Small, suggested that the issue might have been something else.

“Really really really tight. Hitting the ground a little bit. Something’s wrong. I’m getting a flat or something,” Truex said as his car was losing speed and was getting tougher to control.

“Killed, dude. I guess the right rear went flat, James,” he said as the car crashed into the wall.

“Looks like it was down from the get-go,” Small responded.

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If indeed the tyre was down from the get-go, the onus should be on the team to have inspected the car better before sending it out on such a big stage of motorsports. However, Small shared an image on Twitter of a piece of rubber on track which indicates that the tyre did blow out while Truex was on the track. Perhaps the tyre gave way before the green flag fell, it’s all very unclear.

One thing is for certain, however, and that is that Truex will have a very tough job next weekend at Bristol, which is a track the veteran racer does not like very much.

Truex Jr. reveals track issue ahead of crucial race

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Being seven points below the cutline, the #19 driver knows that he has to be at his best regardless of the track he is racing on. But in a recent interview, he revealed that it is not one of his preferred tracks.

“Bristol hasn’t been my favorite place, but we’ve had some good runs there, too. I think we’ve been competitive there over the years. It’s a place that’s tight and things happen fast there, so you have to be on your toes,” the veteran quipped.

But really, he doesn’t have a choice. If Martin Truex Jr fails to finish in a good position at Bristol, he will be eliminated from the Cup this year and it will be seen as a shock. The 2023 regular season champion has to pull his socks up for what might be an extremely stressful race.

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