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Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Martin Truex Jr. rips NASCAR restart rules in wake of Richmond: ‘Clear as mud’

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Jonathan Howard | Last updated 4/6/24

It has been almost a week since Richmond and Martin Truex Jr. is over it, but he has not changed his opinion from Sunday. Denny Hamlin went early and NASCAR missed the call.

It has been about five straight days of nothing but pontificating in the NASCAR world about restarts. Martin Truex Jr. believes he was wronged and his teammate jumped the restart. NASCAR messed up by not issuing a penalty, and he believes it is a black-and-white rule.

There is no nuance from MTJ’s perspective. He was fast in qualifying, maybe he can get redemption at Martinsville this weekend. But he was pretty serious in his comments to the media.

“It’s clear as day, it’s not a question,” Truex said, via Dustin Long of NBC. “You go before the [restart] line it’s a penalty. There’s no data in a football player to know, some things are questionable. There’s ball and strike calls. That case is not, it’s black and white, it’s a you can or you can’t call. So, I don’t really understand what the debate is all about.”

#NASCAR … Martin Truex Jr: “It’s not a question. You go before the (restart) line, it is a penalty.” pic.twitter.com/Fg384yuXZs
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) April 6, 2024

When asked about Elton Sawyer’s comments explaining the call, Martin Truex Jr. was short and to the point. “It’s as clear as mud.”

Martin Truex Jr. is not happy about what happened. However, I think the kind of driver he is, he will put that out of his mind. Truex is a by-the-book kind of guy. He doesn’t get overly aggressive, even when he’s been wronged. That is partly why seeing him drive into Hamlin and Kyle Larson after the finish at Richmond was shocking.

Martin Truex Jr. feels wronged after Richmond

It was a tough race to lose. Truex had more or less dominated the second half of the 400 laps. He was strong until that final caution came out with two laps to go. That’s when he watched the win slip through his fingers and fall into his teammate’s lap.

There are a lot of restarts that are jumped in the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Truck Series. Drivers know it. But a driver like Truex Jr. actually abides by it while others bend the rules. That can be absolutely frustrating.

Martin Truex Jr. has a right to be upset. Out of anyone in the NASCAR Cup Series race that night, he is the one who should be upset. Others can talk about how it was wrong and Hamlin broke the restart rule, but Truex was the most impacted. He deserves to be upset.

NASCAR now has a responsibility to get things right moving forward. I predict that no matter what they do, fans are going to get upset. It’s quite possible that we will be back here talking about another controversial finish.

This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

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