The Crayon 301 race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway brought a major reshuffle on NASCAR’s Cup Series standings. While Kyle Busch dropped to the fifth spot after a stage one wipeout, Martin Truex Jr’s Crayon 301 win saw him dethrone Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron as the new championship leader. 

Despite the fact that Martin Truex Jr won the New Hampshire event in his stellar dominating fashion, the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing driver was not feeling his best during the course of the race. Seeming losing confidence midway, Truex Jr even ranted about the same.

Martin Truex Jr faces a mid-race confidence crisis

Qualifying in second place, Martin Truex Jr started the Crayon 301 behind JGR teammate Christopher Bell. During the initial laps of stage one, the #19 JGR driver nudged past Bell, securing the lead. Bagging both stage one and stage two wins, Truex Jr then set out to claim New Hampshire’s traditional lobster prize. Momentarily falling back after a pit stop during the final stage, the #19 car weaved its way up to the forefront again.

Pulling away from other drivers on the field, Martin Truex Jr led for 254 of the slated 301 laps. Although his lead was impressive, what stood out was the distance the #19 JGR driver had created between himself at the second position car. Impressed by Truex Jr’s finesse, Joe Gibbs Racing’s #19 crew chief, Drew Herring exclaimed over the team radio, “He’s really carrying four or five lengths all the way down the back(stretch).” While his crew chief was thrilled, Martin Truex Jr, on the other hand, was skeptical of his performance.

Minutes before driving down New Hampshire’s Victory Lane, the JGR driver ranted about his consistency. “I know, dude, I know. I’m so (expletive) loose doing it, I just, I can’t do it consistent,” Truex Jr could be heard speaking on the #19 team radio.

Persevering through his lack of mid-race confidence, Martin Truex Jr collected his third win of the 2023 season. While the win awarded him the top rank on NASCAR’s leaderboard, Truex Jr’s New Hampshire win also marked the beginning of a new era for the #19 JGR driver.

Watch This Story: Martin Truex Jr Blamed Denny Hamlin For Losing To Ross Chastain On The Radio

What made Martin Truex Jr’s NHMS win special?

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Competing in the Cup Series for over 19 years, Martin Truex Jr lapped Loudon’s oval 30 times throughout his illustrious career. Although winning 34 Cup Series races on various NASCAR circuits, the JGR driver returned empty-handed from New Hampshire for 17 years straight.

Turning his luck around during the 2023 Crayon 301 Cup Series race, Truex Jr put an end to his 17-year NHMS drought.

 Speaking in a post-race interview, Martin Truex Jr said, “What we’ve been able to do here over the years is pretty remarkable, and did not win was really getting frustrating…We had some challenges at times throughout the race and it was a handful of times, but we just kept our heads down, kept digging…Man, this is feeling really, really good, to do what we did today and finally cap it off with a lobster!”

Now gearing up for the upcoming Pocono 400, will Martin Truex Jr continue his regular-season championship domination streak?

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