Martin Truex Jr. will start last and faces a penalty at Indianapolis after failing pre-race inspection.
Martin Truex Jr. will start Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway from last place after failing to pass the pre-race inspection.
According to sources, the 19th car made an unapproved change. Truex Jr. qualified 14th on Saturday, ahead of AJ Allmendinger but behind Alex Bowman. On the timesheet, the JGR driver recorded a fastest time of 49.979 and a peak speed of 180.076.
However, all efforts were futile, as NASCAR stripped Martin Truex Jr. of his place after discovering a “unapproved adjustment.” According to sources, his vehicle chief, Chris Jones, was dismissed in addition to losing his position.
“After passing pre-race inspection, the No. 19 team made an unapproved adjustment,” NASCAR’s official X account shared. “The No. 19 car will lose pit stall selection, start at the rear of the field and perform a drive-through penalty after taking the green flag Sunday at.”
Interestingly, the #19 Toyota Camry was found with an unapproved adjustment after the first adjustment was done. However, after the penalty, NASCAR re-inspected the car, and it passed this time.
Martin Truex Jr. is in his final season in the NASCAR Cup Series, and the penalty means he has to start Sunday’s race from the rear of the grid, that too at his last Indianapolis race. As he starts from the last position, one cannot expect him to win until a miracle arrives.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has yet to win a race this season, but thanks to his points, he can see himself through to the playoffs. He is currently in sixth place with 640 points after 21 races. He has four top 5s and nine top 10s to his name.NASCAR is in the racing capital of the world, Indianapolis for the 22nd race of this season. Chase Elliott is leading the championship with 703 points, followed by Kyle Larson with 700 points and Tyler Reddick with 688 points.
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