Heartbreaking Kansas loss may have been Martin Truex Jr.'s last shot at a victory

With 21 laps to go in Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, Martin Truex Jr. had the opportunity of a lifetime in front of him. 

An 8.8-second, four-tire pit stop from Truex's No. 19 pit crew had given him the race lead for the upcoming restart, and Truex had perhaps his best car of the season underneath him. 

After being eliminated from the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs at Bristol on Sept. 21, Truex had the opportunity to steal a win from the playoff field in his final full-time NASCAR Cup Series season. 

Unfortunately, his chance to win evaporated as quickly as it showed up. 

On what turned out to be the race's final restart, Truex was shoved into turn one by Alex Bowman. As Bowman fell through the pack, Truex had too much momentum entering the corner. 

After falling back to third place, he was unable to chase down William Byron and race winner Ross Chastain, and was forced to settle for a third-place finish. 

It's certainly a good sign that Truex and the No. 19 team showed race-winning speed for the first time since Kansas' first race in May, but for a driver whose chances at a final victory are dwindling, the loss is still extremely disappointing. 

The third-place effort is Truex's best since Dover on April 28, and his first top-10 since Pocono on July 14. 

If the speed that was realized at Kansas carries over to the final six weeks of the season, Truex still has a shot at one final win. Las Vegas and Homestead seem to be good opportunities for Truex to celebrate one more time, but if he doesn't, Sunday's race will forever loom large.