Joe Gibbs Racing continued their domination from Phoenix at Bristol on Sunday. No:11 Camry of JGR, Denny Hamlin , ended up in a victory lane after a tough day ahead of his teammate Martin Truex Jr. at P2. The other two cars of the team had impressive day. Ty Gibbs swept both stages and scored a P9 finish while Christopher Bell secured a P10.
Martin Truex Jr. was able to close the gap on Denny Hamlin, but the latter had enough gap in the last five laps to hold on to the lead and secure the victory. The No:19 Toyota Camry driver post-race pointed out that a corded right rear was an issue for him the last lap as well and It resulted in him coming short in an interesting race.
You know, we just came out too far behind him (Denny Hamlin) there on the green flag stop. I was right on his bumper when he pitted and when I came out, he was a straightaway ahead of us and just used my stuff up too much to try to get there. The last five laps, my right rear was corded. It was close... I was an interesting race, that’s for sure. Just came up a little bit short there. Truex Jr. told Fox Sports post-race.
If the race would’ve lasted a few more laps, Martin Truex Jr. would’ve close the gap enough to secure the win. But it was a big ask considering the lapped traffic issue and Hamlin’s experience being a veteran. The tire compound from Goodyear and the resin that was used by the track gave fans an interesting short track race.
Martin Truex Jr. breaks down how he manged the tires at Bristol
Martin Truex Jr. after the race pointed out that initially the tire wear was a big surprise as it happened before he could even realize what was actually happening. From then he was able to understand the situation and comes up with the right approach to push and he did exactly that. Toyota’s speed helped them in the tricky situation as well.
It was tricky, honestly, I barely pushed harder there on that last run for 10 laps and you know, at the end, I was right rear corded. There’s a fine line and fortunately for us, we had a lot of speed in our Toyotas today and we were able to save tires and stay up front. That was the key. Martin Truex Jr. said.
The JGR veterans will be hoping to secure the much important race win next-week using the challenging day at Bristol as an inspiration. Toyota has the car to win many more races this year and it would be the execution that would make the difference in the coming weeks.
More must-reads: