Martin Truex Jr. 2020 season in review

Martin Truex Jr. finished seventh in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, snapping a streak of three consecutive Championship 4 appearances that started with his first title in 2017.

The 2020 season marked Truex's first with crew chief James Small.

The first of 23 top 10s for Truex came in NASCAR's return to racing at Darlington Raceway in May after the hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Truex extended his streak of winning at least one race each season to six when he went to Victory Lane at Martinsville Speedway in June after leading 132 laps. It would mark his only win of the year.

The Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway in July was the start of eight consecutive finishes of fourth or better for Truex and the No. 19 team.

Truex began the NASCAR Playoffs as the sixth seed. He dominated the opener at Darlington, leading 196 laps but made contact with the wall while trying to clear Chase Elliott for the lead with 12 laps to go and ultimately finished 22nd.

Two of Truex's five stage wins on the season came in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington. He tied champion Elliott for second in stage points earned in the 36 races with 310.

Truex: "We just came up a little short and didn’t capitalize on our opportunities to win as many races as we probably should have this season and in the playoffs. That’s not from a lack of effort. It just seems like it has been our year to run second, third or fourth."