While this weekend at Richmond Raceway started as a Joe Gibbs Racing masterclass by Martin Truex Jr, it was Denny Hamlin who crossed the line first at the end of the Toyota Owners 400. Despite the Camry XSE being a fitting winner for the aptly named race, Martin Truex Jr was having none of it after losing out on what was to be an all-around dominant weekend. Naturally, the #19 JGR let his frustration be known on the track after he indulged in some retaliatory action against his teammate. However, as far as Joe Gibbs Racing is concerned, it’s all just a part of Cup Series racing.

Martin Truex Jr didn’t shy away from venting his frustration

At the end of the race, the entire NASCAR community was divided between cheering for Hamlin versus feeling sorry for Truex Jr. Not only did the #19 lose out on the win, but he also dropped out of a podium finish after a tussle with Kyle Larson. After leading 228 laps of the Toyota Owners 400 and still losing out, Truex Jr erupted. He was seen aggressively bumping the #11 car’s rear and even making contact with Kyle Larson out of frustration.

While this looks like a rivalry in the making with Truex Jr perhaps going after Hamlin in future races this season, to team owner Joe Gibbs, there’s nothing unjustified about the situation. The team owner even went on to explain why the #19 driver’s aggression was normal when a journalist asked him if Truex Jr’s behavior would be discussed in the next team meeting.

He shared, “Well, I think, here’s what happens. These guys put so much into this that they’re all great competitors. And these things are so hard to win and so when you have an experience the way Martin did tonight, you know, to race that hard.” “We go that far, and then to have a caution with three laps to go, it was just devastating,” Gibbs added. At the end of the day, Gibbs certainly felt happy for Denny Hamlin’s win, but couldn’t help but empathize with Truex Jr’s misery.

While defending both his drivers, Gibbs concluded, “You see these guy,s when it gets down towards the end of these races, they’re going for it…(..)…They want it for their sponsors, they want it for themselves, their career, and so you feel for them when they go through a night like Martin went through this night, you just feel for them.”

READ MORE: NASCAR Toyota Owners 400: Denny Hamlin Clinches Richmond Checkered Amidst Miserable Kyle Busch’s ‘Strategy Disruption’

While it’s safe to say Coach Gibbs went the extra mile to protect Martin Truex Jr after his defeat at Richmond, the tensions boiled over to another driver as well!

Kyle Larson believes he was collateral damage in Denny Hamlin and Truex Jr’s fiasco

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During Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr’s tussle for the lead on the restart, Joey Logano and Kyle Larson were hot on their tails. Whilst Logano whizzed past Truex Jr, contact between the #19 JGR driver and Larson’s #5 Chevy caught the former off-guard, leading to Truex Jr returning the favor to Larson on the restart. Whilst Truex Jr himself felt it ‘wasn’t a big deal’ in the post-race interviews, Kyle Larson didn’t feel things were that pleasant.

The pair ended up colliding as they crossed the start/finish line, leaving Larson with a bitter taste in his mouth. Speaking on the incident post-race, he stated; “Martin, I don’t know if his spotter didn’t say that I was inside of him or what, but he just hung a left and hit my right front, had me up on the apron, and then turned left on me down the middle of the backstretch.”

For Kyle Larson, Truex Jr’s grievances with Denny Hamlin may have boiled over on the final restart. But it is also worth mentioning that the #19 driver was also upset at Larson’s run-in with Bubba Wallace, which triggered the final caution in the first place.

READ MORE: “Stop Making Headlines” – Bubba Wallace Claps Back at Journalist for Dragging His Name in the Mud

As the pair drag-raced to the finish line and traded paint, Larson revealed that he ‘didn’t really care at that point’ if he would end up squeezing Truex Jr into the wall. He concluded, “He decided to turn left on me down the backstretch. So I think, ultimately, he’s just mad at Denny, and I was the closest guy to him to take some anger out on.”

With such a heart-breaking turn if events for Martin Truex Jr, fans will be hopeful of redemption. Do you believe he can turn his fortune around during the next race weekend?