This year, Martin Truex Jr showed the importance of the regular season championship. The playoff points earned by the Joe Gibbs Racing driver helped him sail through a disastrous playoff season. But sadly, even 15 extra points could not lead him through to the Championship 4 race in Phoenix.

Truex finally ended his miserable playoff run with an elimination at the Martinsville Speedway. For NBC analyst Steve Letarte, it could not have come soon enough.

NASCAR insider lists all the reasons Martin Truex Jr fell off the championship wagon

The 2017 Cup Series champion accomplished three more Championship 4 qualifications until Joe Gibbs’s #19 team failed to win a single race last season. But this year, Martin Truex Jr reminded everyone of his talent and expertise with three wins and nine Top 5 finishes. Unfortunately, that impressive form did not make the transition from the regular season to the playoff season.

In the previous nine rounds, Truex has a single Top 10 finish to show for himself amid mediocre double-digit performances. This compelled NBC pit reporter Marty Snider to voice the question on every racing fan’s mind: “What happened in the playoffs?”

NASCAR insider Steve Letarte answered in the only way that could summarize the #19 team recently. “Everything around them fell apart. It’s not one thing and that’s what makes this conversation so difficult.”

The JGR driver won the pole in the last two races and qualified in the Top 5 three other times in the playoffs, so he clearly had pace in his favor. Unfortunately, everything else fell astray. As Letarte pointed out, “What did they do right- they had fast cars, period. Awkward pause, because the list of things that went wrong is so long.”

He continued, “Pit crew, pit stops, speeding, track position, driver made mistakes, they handed it completely around.” Letarte was as puzzled as the rest of the racing community about the downward spiral that settled in after the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at the Daytona International Speedway. He said, “This has been the slowest elimination in the history of the playoffs because it took nine weeks to eliminate a driver who was not around in week one. I can’t imagine the shift from race 26 to 27.”

Letarte further explained, “This is a driver and a team that had huge disappointment a year ago, not making the playoffs. They ride the ship and come back to be the regular season championship. I don’t think anyone understands the emotional roller coaster and the amount of challenge that is for a team. They pulled it off, and I thought that was the momentum.” 

Watch this story: The Unforeseen Pitfall: Truex Jr’s Title Dreams Dashed at Martinsville

Truex must have felt the same because he exuded confidence in the media day interview with NASCAR Hub prior to the first playoff race in Darlington. As the weeks progressed, that confidence faded and the JGR driver was just hoping to make the best out of a troubling situation in the pre-race interview this weekend.

Martin Truex Jr admitted to “living on the edge” during the catastrophic playoff races

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After winning the regular season championship, Martin Truex Jr was understandably “feeling great about things going into the playoffs”. As Steve Letarte put it, “Truex, at the start of the playoffs, walked the walk and talked the talk and had the Speed and I thought this was the 19 that was going on to Phoenix to win a championship.” After the Herculean efforts it took to come back on top this season, the JGR driver was asked if it was even worth it before the elimination race in Martinsville.

Truex hoped for the best and responded, “We’ve been living on the edge, that’s for sure. We barely made it through the first two rounds, so yeah, it’s been tough for sure, but yeah, tomorrow’s a new day and new opportunity.” That opportunity only lasted till the speeding penalty in Stage 2. The #19 driver won 8 points in the first stage and then disappeared at the back during the rest of the race, essentially losing his last shot this year.

As Steve Letarte aptly concluded, “It’s going to be a long offseason of soul searching for this #19 team to see what they want next year to look like”.

“It Was Devastating”: Martin Truex Jr Comes Clean on Pit-Road Debacle as He Avoids Calling Out JGR’s Martinsville Let-Down