Truex Jr.'s victory slips away on fuel mileage

FONTANA, Calif. -- Of all the drivers who ran out of gas on Saturday in the Stater Brothers 300, perhaps the biggest casualty was Martin Truex Jr.

	Martin Truex Jr.

Truex nearly won for the third time in five Busch Series races, but he ran out of gas while leading with two laps to go. He then bled away a top-five finish when the car stalled on pit road.

He finished 13th after having one of the fastest cars all day long. He led 16 laps, and only one driver -- second-place finisher Tony Stewart -- spent more time in the top 10.

Truex remained third in the standings, 53 points behind leader Michael Waltrip, as he bids to give owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. a Busch title.

After finishing 28th at Daytona, Truex has just one finish out of the top 15.

Truex was coming off wins at Bristol and Talladega, and he appeared to have the best car in the early going. But a 22-second pit stop on Lap 54 cost him tons of track position.

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Still, the fuel mishap is what disappointed Truex the most.

"We were trying to make it on fuel and we ran out of gas coming down the backstretch," Truex said. "Everything said we could have made it, but we were just a little bit tight on that last run and used more fuel than I should have."

The next stop for the Busch regulars is next week at Gateway, and Chance 2 Motorsports elected to test there, as it will be Truex' first look at the at the 1.25-mile track.

"We went up there, had a good run and was real happy with our test," Truex said.