Martin Truex Jr. did not mince words when discussing his fellow NASCAR drivers and how they approached the final stage and overtime of Sunday's Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International.
"This racing is just ridiculous," a frustrated Truex said after a crash disrupted what had been a strong day for the No. 19 team.
The 2017 Cup champion entered the race 19 points below the Round of 12 cutline. He was in a precarious position, but he locked up crucial points early by winning the opening stage of the race. This gave Truex another playoff point and 10 crucial points to help him recover from a crash at Atlanta last weekend.
However, a multi-car incident with three laps remaining in the scheduled distance disrupted the race and Truex's rebound.
The incident began when Todd Gilliland got loose in the grass. This sent him sideways into Chase Elliott, who sent another car into the outside wall.
Truex began to check up but a car hit him from behind and sent him into the outside wall. Tyler Reddick and Kyle Busch also crashed and brought out the caution.
This multi-car incident sent the race to overtime while Truex headed to pit road. It played a role in him ultimately finishing the race in the 20th position.
"You get green-white-checkered at the end of the race, and you know people are just going to drive through someone," Truex said. "We were on the wrong lane, on the short end of the stick as usual.
"We were in a decent spot there with our Reser's Camry, and you go through the esses, and they just plow through you and put you in the marbles."
Sunday's race marked the 12th time this season that a Cup Series race has gone to overtime, which set a NASCAR record.
Unlike fellow playoff driver Ryan Blaney, who NASCAR sent to the garage after an issue on the opening lap, Truex was able to finish the race.
However, the incidents late in Sunday's Cup race took Truex from one point above the cutline to 14 points below.
Now, his only opportunity to move on to the Round of 12 is to deliver a standout performance at Bristol Motor Speedway, provided late-race chaos does not unfold once again. Based on recent evidence, at least one overtime finish is likely.
"It's just crazy that all these races always come down to this," Truex said to NBC Sports. "I just don't understand how guys can call themselves the best in the world when they just drive through everyone on restarts at the end of these races."