Woes leave Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin below cutline after Homestead

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — The playoff journey for Martin Truex Jr., the regular-season champion, took a turn for the worse on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Shortly after his teammate Denny Hamlin crashed into the wall and ended his race with only 31 laps remaining, Truex encountered trouble of his own as his car began to smoke, forcing him to retire from the race.

Both Truex and Hamlin, who finished first and second in the regular season before the points reset, now find themselves 17 points below the cutoff line heading into next week’s elimination race at Martinsville Speedway. They have one last opportunity to join their teammate Christopher Bell in the championship race at Phoenix in two weeks.

Sunday proved to be another disappointing outing for Truex and the No. 19 team. Despite narrowly avoiding elimination in the first round and making it through the second round thanks to the playoff points earned in the regular season, their luck has run out.

“Everything has gone wrong,” said crew chief James Small after the No. 19 car was taken to the garage. “Every imaginable thing.

Truex has only managed to finish better than 15th once in the eight playoff races this season.

Throughout the playoffs, Truex has been plagued by a cut tire that led to a crash at Kansas, a blown engine at Homestead, and a costly decision not to pit last week at Las Vegas, resulting in a loss of stage points.

“We can’t afford to give up points,” Truex said after winning the pole at Homestead. “We have to maximize our performance today. I feel like we missed a few opportunities in stage 2 last weekend. Hopefully, that won’t come back to haunt us.”

Unfortunately, it might just haunt them after Sunday’s race.

Truex, who finished 29th, chose not to speak to the media following the race, leaving crew chief Small to summarize their disappointment.

“It was a disappointing day,” he said.

Regarding the engine issue, Small added: “I’m not exactly sure what happened. There’s oil everywhere. Obviously, something in the valve train or elsewhere is broken.

“We still have one more chance, so we’re not out of it yet.”

With Bell securing a spot in the championship race alongside Kyle Larson, there are only two spots remaining. William Byron, with six wins this season, holds a 30-point advantage over the first driver outside of a playoff position and a 20-point lead over Ryan Blaney, who is currently on the cutoff line.

Unless Byron encounters major issues next weekend, it’s highly likely that he will secure the third spot in the championship, leaving Blaney, Hamlin, Truex, Tyler Reddick (10 points below the cutoff), and Chris Buescher (43 points below the cutoff) to battle for the final spot.

Hamlin was 10 points above the cutoff before his car slid up the track and hit the wall. He suspected a steering failure as the cause.

Now, Hamlin is left with one last opportunity to make it back into the championship race.

“I pretty much have to win,” said Hamlin, who is still chasing his first Cup championship in an otherwise illustrious career. “We were in this situation last year, and we dominated the race at Martinsville but finished in fifth place.

“I feel like we dominated the fall race for the past two years.”

Regarding the current situation, Hamlin added: “It’s disappointing, but that’s the format. You know that one bad race, especially in the Round of 8, can end your chances, regardless of what you achieved in the first 35 races.”

While Joe Gibbs Racing has secured one spot in the championship race with Bell, there is a possibility that both Hamlin and Truex may miss out.

“Sometimes, it’s truly amazing what can happen in this sport,” Gibbs remarked. “Truex’s team had an exceptional regular season, and that wasn’t a fluke. It lasted for 26 weeks and gave them a considerable advantage. However, this just shows the unpredictability of sports. It’s the greatest reality show in the world because we never know what will unfold.”