It is not unnatural for a teammate to take pleasure in the success of another teammate. Not to mention, they are on the same team for a reason. But when it comes to NASCAR Cup Series teams, the scenario cannot be that selfless. Indeed, Joe Gibbs Racing has three drivers in the playoff rumble, and when two of those three do exceptionally well in a decisive race, the third one perhaps doesn’t feel very happy.

Last week’s Bass Pro Shops Night race at Bristol Motor Speedway proved to be one of the sweetest for Denny Hamlin, who won his 51st career victory at the 1.5-mile racetrack. For his fellow JGR driver, Christopher Bell, came the largest number of points, besides two stage wins and a commendable P7 finish. However, for Martin Truex Jr., it was a do-or-die situation.

Joe Gibbs’ crew chief let out just one word to sum up their performance for the night

Despite being the regular season champion, Martin Truex Jr. struggled in a slump as he tried all he could do to cope with the 7-point deficit that he had prior to the race. Although he succeeded in doing so and went home with a plus 5, nobody expects a seasonal champion to be stuck in such a precarious situation.

Almost all the Toyota pilots did well, except for Martin Truex Jr. Bubba Wallace moved on to the round of 12 for the first time in his career; Denny Hamlin took home the trophy; and Christopher Bell took away the pole winner award. Denny, Ty, and Bell combined to lead 431 laps of the 500-lap race. But Truex took away memories of desperation. And to make it worse, his crew chief, James Small, described the efforts of the number 19 team as “average”.

Truex Jr.’s track record at Bristol Motor Speedway is not quite impressive. The 43-year-old Joe Gibbs racer has led a combined number of just 57 laps over the last 5 years at “The Last Great Colloseum”.

When a reporter asked how the team managed to advance to the next round, Small said, “Just by being average, really, really average.”

“We came here really worried because this is probably, statistically our worst track outside of Speedways and we just pounded along all night all night long and we worked on the car and got a little better, and luckily that last one…it came to life a little more and other guys had problems and we managed to survive. It’s been hell of a round. We’ll put it behind us and reset,” he added with flickering hope.

Watch this story: Joe Gibbs Loyalist Denny Hamlin Sends a Message to Truex Jr, C-Bell, & Ty?s Teams After What Happened at the Gateway

Besides seconding his crew chief during a post-race interview, Martin Truex Jr. shed light on the nature of NASCAR races.

“Wasn’t pretty, but it was enough,” said Martin Truex Jr. about his night

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When around forty drivers put their lives on the line, buckling themselves up to the seat of a 700 HP beast, none of them know for sure if they will unbuckle themselves at the end of the race. Such is the nature of a NASCAR race. And that is exactly why we love watching them so much.

With the dawn of next-generation cars, speed has not been the driving factor behind the outcome of a race. Various other things, like strategy and aerodynamics, come into play. So one never really knows what they have to do in order to guarantee a win for their team. Martin Truex Jr. too, had the same opinion. He revealed that he felt okay when the race started but soon found himself too tight with his Camry.

Once Truex lost the track position, it all started going southwards for the New Jersey native. Truex said, “Track position; we were in pretty good shape there and then once we lost it it was just, forget about it… just plowing tight and blowing the right front off. There just wasn’t a whole lot I could do and we just kept adjusting on it.”

Read more: Joe Gibbs Snatches Away Grandsons? Privileges to Boost Playoff Contention for JGR

“We got a lap down and last run we finally made a little bit of progress on the car…all in all, just a fighting night. It wasn’t pretty but it was enough,” he sighed.

Let’s just hope that the No. 19 team pulls their socks up and comes back stronger at the Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. After all, nobody likes watching a points champion stagger like this in a playoff battle.