Disappointment at Daytona for Truex after 22-car wreck in Coke Zero 400

It would have taken more than a Houdini act for Martin Truex Jr. to escape the 22-car melee Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway.

Though Truex’s Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER BOATS Toyota got clobbered in the Lap 91 wreckfest, it wasn’t enough to knock the Furniture Row Racing driver out of the race. After spending more than 30 laps of the race in the garage for major repairs, Truex returned to action with a crippled race car and limped home to a 29th-place finish in the Coke Zero 400 Sprint Cup Series race.

“We were right smack in the middle of this unnecessary accident and took big-time hits from all different directions,” explained Truex. “Someone just made a questionable move out there and a lot of other people paid the price. We happened to be one of those teams. We did the best we could to fix the car, but it took a severe beating. Hats off to our guys for getting our car back on track.”

Truex qualified 15th and started to show the Toyota muscle when he took the lead on Lap 52. But after taking the lead, he was left without a drafting partner and got shuffled back in the pack. He was being patient to get back to the front, working the dicey draft on the high-banked 2.5-mile oval.

“We still had plenty of time to get back up there and make some noise,” said Truex, who finished runner-up here in February’s Daytona 500. “But never got the chance. Oh well, just write it off to superspeedway racing.”

Even with the 29th-place finish, Truex gained one spot – from eighth to seventh — in the driver point standings.

The 161-lap overtime race had 26 lead changes among 13 drivers and five cautions for 28 laps.

The race winner was Brad Keselowski. Rounding out the top-10 in order were: Kyle Busch, Trevor Bayne, Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer and Michael McDowell.

The next Sprint Cup Series race is Saturday night, July 9 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.