Martin Truex Jr. just might have blown the playoffs bubble race wide open at the Darlington Raceway. Not with his race-winning moves, but by his early mistake. The veteran Joe Gibbs Racing driver overran his No. 19 Toyota Camry, exiting the corner, and got loose. And in his desperate attempt to not wreck William Byron, he over-steered his race car in the hopes of sparking a big wreck.

However, Ryan Blaney, who had no involvement in this incident, was caught up as Martin Truex Jr. turned right into the safer barrier. The No. 12 Ford came out the worst and had significant damage to the front of the car. Admitting his mistake that hampered Blaney’s chances of a good run in the Southern 500, Truex Jr. said, “I’m an idiot.”

Although it looked like the #19 team could see out the rest of the race, they had to park their race car. If there is a new winner, the veteran driver’s chances of making the playoff cut could be in trouble. Meanwhile, Blaney also suffered a similar fate with an early elimination and a DNF finish.

The regular season finale was expected to deliver drama, but no one could’ve anticipated that it would come this early in the race.

Another disappointing run for Truex Jr. and the #19 team

The veteran driver was 58 points above the cutline before the start of the Southern 500 race. However, zero points to his name and an early elimination puts a big question mark on his odds of making the cut for the final 16. There was a point in the season where the #19 team looked untouchable with 100 or so points from the cutline, but not anymore.

While the No. 19 Camry has been among the top-performing cars this season, they have dropped the ball in the last two months. In the last five starts, including today’s DNF finish, Martin Truex Jr. hasn’t registered a single top-10 finish. And therefore, today’s disappointment was a crushing blow to the hopes and aspirations of the team’s smooth transition to knockout rounds.

“I got the run on the 24 and went to the inside and thought everything was going fine, and the car just took off, and I ran into him. So obviously that was on me. I hate it for my guys at the Bass Pro Shops and Toyota, everybody. We had a phenomenal race Just a dumb mistake on my part and I know this is the longest race of the year. Just a dumb mistake on my part.” The veteran JGR driver said in an interview.

He was also asked about the air of uncertainty surrounding his playoff qualification following the early exit. To which he simply replied, “Yeah, I mean, it s-cks. We’ve had a miserable two months. Fast cars and nothing to show for it and again tonight, it was on me, so sorry to my team and all the guys that worked so hard.”

Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace, and Chris Buescher would now look to capitalize on MTJ’s misery. The only thing that can safeguard Truex Jr.’s playoff hopes is a win by the likes of Denny Hamlin or Kyle Larson. Those guys running up front are also battling for the regular season championship and the precious 15 bonus playoff points.