Martin Truex Jr Was Surprised on ‘How Long He Could Hold Off Denny Hamlin’ in a Loose Car at Dover

When the first NASCAR Cup race at Dover reached its conclusion, Denny Hamlin clinched the win, with Martin Truex Jr in 2nd. Although Hamlin won all three stages, he weathered a massive battle against Truex Jr to earn that win. Speaking to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, he admitted that the last run was quite long.

To make matters worse for himself, the #19 car was quite loose on several occasions, and it was a race-long issue. Admittedly, Truex Jr needed plenty of clear air but had some trouble dealing with the likes of Aric Almirola.

Later on, when Denny Hamlin came up to join the party, Martin Truex Jr knew that Hamlin had the faster car. So, he was extremely surprised that he lasted as long as he did in the lead.

Martin Truex Jr was furious with Aric Almirola

On the subject of Aric Almirola, he did not endear himself to Truex Jr. In fact, he blamed the #10 driver for making him lose the lead to Hamlin with nine laps to go. It is worth noting that with this second-place finish, Truex snapped his five-race streak of finishing in third place.

Speaking to NBC, he insisted that if Almirola had not blocked him, things would have been fine. Martin Truex Jr said that whenever he tried to move up and get some air, Almirola would block him off ‘like an idiot’.

Although he felt that Almirola was to blame for him losing the lead, Truex Jr just did not do enough to win. At the end of the day, Truex was angry that he drove the widest stock car. All the while, Denny Hamlin came closer and closer to catching him.

He told NBC, “I feel like we’ve had the best car a few times along the way. Certainly today we didn’t. We were right there. As long as we can keep doing what we’re doing, the wins are going to come, no question.”