The action heated up at Richmond Raceway as the NASCAR Cup Series raced towards the playoffs. With every winless driver desperate for a breakthrough, the stakes were high. Martin Truex Jr, who has 34 career victories in the Cup Series, currently holds 8th place with 0 wins this season and was aiming to secure a crucial victory. However, the intensity boiled over at the end of Stage 2.

Putting aside Austin Dillon’s controversial win, Chase Elliott and Truex Jr clashed aggressively, where the Hendrick Motorsports driver narrowly edged out Truex Jr. The frustration from the loss led the Joe Gibbs Racing driver to make multiple contacts with Elliott’s No. 9 during the caution period, escalating more tension between the two drivers. At one point, the #19 driver lined right behind the #9, seeming to spin the latter at any moment.

What must have surely added to the frustration for the veteran was him having to ultimately retire his car after 250 of 400 laps, reporting that it had lost power and was “blown up”. Later, expressing his disappointment post-race, Truex Jr, said, “We just had an issue on pit road with the left rear coming off. We went from being one of the fastest cars on the track to not having a very good car with a very small change. We just missed an adjustment race-track-wise, but we were still going to be okay. It is a shame. Last race here full time and it would have been nice to get another win.”

While Daniel Suarez won Stage 2, Chase Elliott took the 10th position as he proceeded to Stage 3.

It looks like it just wasn’t the day for MTJ, who, now will have to try and get a win out of the next three races left of the regular season. Truth be told, after the initial few laps, it seemed like the driver had a shot at the checkered flag as he led the race for a few laps before dropping down to last-place. Now, the 2017 series champ is clinging to a 78-point lead above the playoff cutoff, still sitting in 14th as the highest-ranked driver without a win. Just behind him, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs holds onto 15th with a 19-point buffer above the elimination line, followed by Wallace, Buescher, and Chastain.

The series is currently at such a juncture where every point counts. So the aggression from both sides is kind of justified. While Chase Elliott already has a win and also finished the Cook Out 400 in P10, Truex Jr is still trying to find his first win of the season.

However, that didn’t stop fans from calling out the driver for breaking the rules!

Meanwhile, Golden Boy’s fans chose to call out Martin Truex Jr.

One die-hard Elliott fan speculated a massive fine for the #19, writing, “MTJ hits Chase Elliott under caution! $200M fine incoming.” Another one called for a penalty as he wrote “I guess NASCAR is going to have to fine MTJ now.”

Notably, this is not the first time drivers have been fined for acting out under yellow. Earlier this year at Nashville, Carson Hocevar was docked 25 driver points and fined $50,000 for spinning out Harrison Burton under caution. And who can forget the Bubba Wallace-Alex Bowman controversy at the Chicago Street Race this year? The 23XI Racing driver was also fined 50 grand for intentionally bumping into the HMS racer. However, as far as Truex Jr is concerned, he merely nudged his opponent under the yellow, so we’re not sure what lens NASCAR will be using to look at it.

MTJ’s displeasure with what happened on the track was deemed immature by some fans as they called him a crybaby. One fan wrote, “Martin Truex Jr is SUCH A CRYBABY! I mean being upset for racing for stage points, come on.” Another one continuing on the same lines, wrote, “#Truex is such a crybaby b**ch. It’s racing dude, and you got beat.”

Instances of frustration have been consistent from the 44-year-old driver. At the Toyota Owners 400 at the same venue in April, Truex had an outburst after conceding his win to Denny Hamlin—who admitted to jumping the restart—merely one and a half laps away from the start-finish line. In a fit of rage, the driver was seen bumping Kyle Larson twice, and his teammate thrice before heading onto pit road. Notably, MTJ had led a staggering 228 out of 400 laps.

NASCAR is an intense racing event where every point matters and has to be fought for. This is what Elliott must have thought going after that last point. One fan was of the same opinion as he asked MTJ to be more mature, “Good lord Truex can not handle being raced hard. Grow up man. Damn.”

The driver’s frustration is somewhat understandable. Set to retire after this season, any driver would be hoping to go out with a bang after more than two decades in the sport. Unfortunately, that has eluded him so far. Hopefully, he’ll be able to get one win before the end of the 2024 season.

Do you think Martin Truex Jr will be able to turn around his fortune? Let us know what you think he’s lacking in the comments below!