BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 15, 2014) — Martin Truex Jr.’s reprieve from a plethora of bad luck was short lived as the Furniture Row Racing driver found himself in a Lap 8 multicar accident in Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 Sprint Cup Series Race at Michigan International Speedway.
Truex avoided the bad-luck syndrome at the last two Cup races by collecting top-10 finishes at Dover (6th) and Pocono (9th). But on Sunday in Michigan where he was seeking his third straight top-10, his day was basically over when he got tangled with the No. 42 car of Kyle Larson. Kasey Kahne was also involved in the incident.
To show how unlucky Truex was, Larson and Kahne suffered minimal damage as both drivers went on to finish the race in the top-10.
“When luck is not on your side, there’s not much you can do,” said Truex, who limped home in his No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet with a 37th-place finish.
The accident caused Truex to fall three laps down with a heavily damaged car. He managed to complete the 400-lap event, thanks to a talented and hardworking Furniture Row pit crew, who constantly made repairs to the car throughout the race.
“I don’t know what to say right now,” said Truex. “We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s disheartening because we felt that we had a potential top-10 car but didn’t get a chance to show it. When you have an accident that early it sure makes for a long day. I mean a very long day.
“I really would have liked to see how our Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet performed today. It not only would have given us the opportunity to continue our momentum, but also a learning experience when we return here in August. But as we have done all year, we will battle back and fight through whatever adversity comes our way.”
Truex dropped one position to 25th in the driver point standings.
On the bright side, the next stop on the Sprint Cup Series circuit is the road course in Sonoma, Calif, Sunday June 22. Truex is the defending champion of the event.
The Michigan race winner was Jimmie Johnson. Rounding out the top-10 in order were: Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Paul Menard, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Larson, Joey Logano and Clint Bowyer.
The race had 25 lead changes among 13 drivers and eight cautions for 36 laps.
