Martin Truex Jr secured his spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs despite an early crash in the Southern 500. While other drivers like Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace, and Chris Buescher were eliminated, Truex’s previous points of accumulation proved enough. In a thrilling finish, Chase Briscoe overtook and fended off a desperate Kyle Busch for 17 laps to win the race.

MTJ did not face any consequences for his actions. Ryan Blaney wasn’t so fortunate. He could have become the regular series champion instead of Tyler Reddick. And for that, MTJ apologized!

Despite a DNF, Martin Truex Jr makes it to the playoffs

In a race which was more or less a clean one. MTJ crashed out a little too soon. Here’s what happened: Truex Jr made contact with William Byron in Turn 1, sending both cars spinning. While Truex managed to avoid a head-on collision with Byron, his car slid into the outside wall, collecting Ryan Blaney in the process. The damage sustained by Truex and Blaney was too severe to continue, forcing their early retirement. Luckily, Truex Jr has a good cushion going into the race and qualified.

Truex Jr entered the race with +58 points above the cutoff line above Ty Gibbs, who took the 15th position in the playoffs above MTJ. Although a +58 point difference is a lot to cover, upsets are a part of NASCAR, making MTJ a little worried. Post the crash, he spoke about his playoff chances, which now weren’t really in his control. He said, “Can’t change it now. I am not gonna get too crazy about it but, just really sad for my team, they deserve better than that. We had an amazing race car. I felt so good about tonight. I’m really sorry I let everybody down.”

To his relief, he made it to the 16th position thanks to a new winner knocking Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher out of the race. Also suffered in the crash was Blaney, who was fighting to be the regular season champion. The 2017 NASCAR Cup Series Champion was bummed out by his run and he apologized for knocking Blaney out.

Post the crash, he said, “I was super confident in the race tonight. I thought our car was great. I think our cars have good speed in them. This was just a crappy deal at the start of this thing. However, MTJ took all the blame and was upset as he wrecked Blaney’s chances. “It was on me, I hate it for my team. I hate to make a mistake that early in the race. All my fault. Hate it for my team, hate it for Blaney, I apologize to his guys. Just caught me by surprise, just a stupid mistake, inexcusable,” said Truex Jr.

Truex Jr is in his last season as he previously announced his retirement. “It’s been incredible. It’s been a hell of a ride. I’m excited about the future, and I’m not really sure what that looks like yet,” These were his words when he made the announcement. Now the 2017 champion can end his Cup Series career on a high note. Maybe another championship is waiting for the veteran. Speaking of veterans, you have got to feel it for Kyle Busch. Just not been his year.

Kyle Busch doesn’t make it to the playoffs

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Despite having fresher tires, Busch could not overtake Briscoe and secure a playoff spot. This just hasn’t been the year for Busch. So far in the season he has been winless and did not even have the consistency to make it in points. A win was his only option! And he did get not one, but two recent opportunities to make it to the playoffs. First in Daytona, when Harrison Burton took the lead from him at the last lap of the race and took the chequered flag. Where Busch finished in P2.

And now again he finished in 2nd at Darlington. On any other day, a P2 would be good enough, but not today. As this is the first time since 2012 that he will not race in the playoffs. A disappointed Kyle Busch after the race said, “We didn’t have much speed there through a majority of the race, We were just mired in traffic, and we weren’t able to get up through there. But once we got up there, I felt like those last three or four restarts, we were going to have a shot running in the top-5. But then we had a shot for the win and just couldn’t make it up there.”

Hopefully, we’ll get to see some wins by the RCR driver in the playoff races to come. We might see a more relaxed Rowdy there, as he wouldn’t have the pressure to win. Getting some wins in 2024 will be crucial for his 2025 campaign. Which race out of the last 10 do you think Busch has a strong chance of winning? Share your thoughts in the comments below.