Dale Earnhardt Jr had a talk with Martin Truex Jr after the race at Martinsville Speedway
Earnhardt Jr said to Truex Jr after Martinsville: “Come on Martin! Quit being so clean.”
Martin Truex Jr and Joey Logano were in a battle for 10 laps at Martinsville Speedway. In the course of that battle, Truex touched Logano’s back bumper, one time.
Instead, Truex moved to the bottom and tried to work by clean. Lap after lap, Logano would pinch of the corner exit of Truex. Logano would run high in the middle, almost diamond the corner.
Logano would come off the corner straight and with a lot of momentum. Then, he would pinch Truex down at the same time to make his life difficult. Each time he did that, Logano got into the right front fender of Truex.
On the white flag lap, Logano let him have the position. He then followed in behind him through turn one. Heading into turn three, all hell broke loose.
After Truex just worked by Logano as clean as a whistle, Logano roughed him up in the final corner. They banged fenders and sent sheet metal flying, all the way to the start finish line.
Following Martinsville Speedway, Martin Truex Jr was seeing red. He stood by he torn race car and hinted at payback for Joey Logano over the loud speaker.
“He’s not going to win it. Promise,” Truex Jr said after the race.
Texas Motor Speedway went on to create a race flyer for the upcoming NASCAR event this weekend. On their flyer it says, ‘What goes around, comes around in Texas!”
Payback would have been interesting coming from Truex. Mostly because Truex is the kind of driver that wouldn’t even get into Logano to win a race. But, the plans have shifted. Mostly because Truex doesn’t even remember what he said in the post-race interview.
Cole Pearn on possible payback
“I mean, right now our plan is to make it to Homestead and race for the championship,” Pearn told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, when asked about a possible retaliation.
“I think the best way to keep them from winning the championship is win it ourself. It’s kind of like a ‘beating them on the scoreboard’ mentality, so I think that’s our plan at this point,” Pearn stated.
At the end of the season, Furniture Row Racing will be shutting the doors. Yet, the team has found themselves in another championship race.
“Everybody’s just proud of their effort. Everybody, every second breath, wants to count us out of it, and we were able to keep the intensity up and keep bringing good cars,” Pearn told SiriusXM.
“It’s difficult keeping everybody motivated right now, but the fact that everybody is staying motivated and you’re able to go and put that kind of effort together at one of your perceived least (favorite) tracks, it’s definitely a good feeling even though you didn’t get to Victory Lane.”
In other words, the payback that was hinted, was an off the cuff comment. Dale Earnhardt Jr spoke to Martin that night.
Dale Earnhardt Jr on Martin Truex Jr
“I was just really surprised that Martin drove him as clean as he did,” Dale Earnhardt Jr said on the Dale Jr Download of the race at Martinsville Speedway.
“I was like, ‘Come on Martin! Quit being so clean.’ ”
“I told Martin that. Last year, same race. Kyle Busch wins the race at Martinsville. After the race, I was like, ‘Martin, why you didn’t you race him hard? ‘ ”
He’s like, ‘My mission is XYZ.’ ”
Martin Truex Jr has a lot of similarities to Dale Earnhardt Sr. They talk similar. And when the race is over, each of them could be found in a deer stand throughout the week.
“Martin is an outdoors man. He’s a hunter, tough [and] he’s rugged. The interview that you saw him give Parker, is Martin Truex Jr, that’s him. That’s him when he’s mad.”
“He doesn’t even remember what he said. I asked him afterwards, later that night. He doesn’t even remember what he said to Parker. He’s so mad.”
Martin Truex Jr and Mark Martin are one in the same. For those that don’t know, Mark Martin was the kind of guy that would wave people by before he even got to them. In his mind, it didn’t make sense to hold people up and burn off your own tires to do it. Knowing full well they’re going to get by anyway.
“But, he races differently. He talks like Earnhardt and races like Mark Martin. I told him that. I said man, ‘You outta talk like Earnhardt and drive like Earnhardt.’ ”
Dale Earnhardt Jr on Martin Truex
More
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Denny Hamlin declares short tracks as the fix for NASCAR
NASCAR reacts to the finish between Logano and Truex at Martinsville Speedway
Martin Truex Jr called the move by Joey Logano a ‘cheap shot’; Roger Penske disagrees
NASCAR community reacts to the move by Joey Logano
Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr comment after the race at Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville Speedway: Race Results (October 28, 2018)
Truex is tired of getting run over by his fellow NASCAR competitors
Jimmie Johnson had to get special permission from NASCAR to pull the prank on Furniture Row Racing
Links
Dale Jr | Joey Logano | Martin Truex Jr | Martinsville Speedway | NASCAR
