Here's why Martin Truex Jr. was the only one penalized at Kansas


Advertisement

Martin Truex Jr. had a great win Sunday but also was the only driver to get penalized for something he admits he completely missed when rules were discussed ahead of the Hollywood Casino 400.

I guess you could forgive Truex Jr. and crew chief Cole Pearn for being present but not completely "all there" Sunday morning during the drivers meeting. The Furniture Row Racing team had just lost crew member Jim Watson to a heart attack not 12 hours earlier. NESN.com reports it was during the meeting that NASCAR officials were forbidding drivers from dropping below the white line on restarts. More specifically, looking to the lead car to set the example.

This is where Truex Jr. got dinged but no one else. Everyone lines up behind the lead car on a restart, and when Truex Jr. dropped below the white line, others followed. A NASCAR version of follow the leader.

"We had some discussions early on with some of the competitors on Sunday morning about the fact that not necessarily just the inside lane, but if the inside car dropped below the white line it would force, potentially, the outside row or one of the drivers in the outside row to change lanes and the fear of being penalized," NASCAR chief racing development officer Steve O'Donnell told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Because Truex Jr. caused others to go astray, he was the only one to get penalized.

Advertisement