Just when it seemed like he might be getting his form back, Martin Truex Jr slipped once again in Miami last Sunday. The 2017 Cup Series champion had entered the gates of the city riding on the back of his first top-10 finish of the playoffs. With the 1.5-mile intermediate in Homestead-Miami being one of his better tracks, hopes were that he would outperform most others. Unfortunately, fate wouldn’t have it so.

Facing a rare engine issue with his #19 Toyota Camry, Truex Jr had to retire the machine and end his day. While the reasons for the failure have been hazy so far, a recent revelation from the manufacturer indicates that it was Toyota that cost the veteran a possible shot at the title. Worryingly, this spells more trouble for the driver heading to Martinsville on Sunday.

The Toyota curse that came at the worst possible time for the #19 team

Talking about the Miami engine failure, James Small, crew chief of Joe Gibbs Racing‘s #19 team, said, “The engine failure over the weekend really, really hurt us because, given the day we had and the pit stop issues and the untimely caution, I still think we could have got back to within the top five. And the whole points scenario would be completely different.” (as reported by racer.com)

Should the #19 team have gotten to continue with their race that ended after 236 laps, they might very well have finished in the top order in alignment with Small’s strategy. Courtesy of that not happening, they now sit 17 points below the cut-off line. Talking to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Toyota Racing Development (USA)’s president took the blame for the engine malfunction on himself.

Showcasing a collapse of order within the garages of Joe Gibbs’s camp, Wilson said, “This is on us, because we build and we service and we own all the engines that the Toyota teams are on. So this is our worst nightmare when we have anything that goes wrong with our engines. That’s our job to put quality engines in the cars of each of our Camrys.”

“The longer you go with a perfect record, the more you don’t wanna talk about it,” he added, further emphasizing, “Heading into Sunday, we were the only builder in the garage with a perfect record when it comes to engine reliability and unfortunately, that record is now smudged. Unfortunately, it’s a mechanical thing and these things do happen.“

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“We can’t rewind the clock. What we will be measured on is how we respond to that. […] As soon as Martin pulled his car into the garage, what we saw, what we feared, was the almighty valve spring gave out and ultimately precipitated that failure,” Wilson concluded.

Though TRD took ownership of the mishap, the only sound ringing in the heads of the #19 team’s members is that of a similar failure happening in Martinsville.

With one last ride remaining before Phoenix, Martin Truex Jr faces a battle against fate

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Throughout the playoffs, there were races where Martin Truex Jr and the #19 crew were just awful. What led him to the current dire situation, however, is the intervening of fate in the races where he ran well. Miami is the most recent example. Despite putting up a great run and pushing hard, unforeseeable circumstances pulled him down the ladder and kept him there.

Even so, the 500-laps in Martinsville offer him another opportunity. In his 9 starts at the track under the banner of Joe Gibbs Racing, Truex Jr has 6 top-10 finishes and 3 victory lane visits. Impressive numbers, beyond doubt. But how do the Toyota’s president’s words reflect on these stats? Would past records mean much with an unreliable car in the most crucial race of the year? Questions we will have answers for by sundown on Sunday.

In James Small’s words, “I feel like we just have to go and win. There’s really only one option. There’s not too much stress about it, so it’s just like, what can we do to go and put ourselves in the best position to win? […] I feel like it’ll be us and Denny vying it out for the win…I hope.” The qualifying and the initial stage of the Xfinity 500 will provide a glimpse of the day’s turnout, but for now, we wait.

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