WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Brad Keselowski took ownership of the final-lap, final-corner contact that sent Martin Truex Jr. looping out of second place and a last-ditch shot to win Sunday at Watkins Glen International.
According to the affronted Truex, apologies can only go so far.
“Hell no, it don’t help,” Truex said, “because you’re like, ‘Well, that’s awesome. Thanks for saying you’re sorry, but what do I get out of it?’ You know what I mean? That’s just racing. It’s like yesterday in qualifying, you know. A guy pulls out in front of you, he says I’m sorry. Well, no s— you’re sorry, but you gotta damn stop doing stupid stuff, you know what I mean? I don’t run over people all the time. I don’t pull out in front of people in qualifying. So race me like I race you is all I ask.”
Keselowski trudged on, securing a third-place finished as Denny Hamlin pulled away to victory and Team Penske stablemate Joey Logano slipped by for the runner-up spot in the final stretch of the Cheez-It 335 at The Glen.
Truex, who had closed in on Hamlin with hopes of making a final-lap challenge, salvaged seventh place after righting his damaged Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota in the final road-course race of the year for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Truex showed his post-race displeasure with multiple bumps directed at Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford on the cool-down lap. Keselowski walked over to Truex’s pit-road perch after parking, saying, “Hey, that was my fault, man.” With his voice raised, Truex said he agreed.
“I went high and the 78 went high and by then I was already deep in the corner and got into him and turned him,” Keselowski said, taking the blame. “That was really unfortunate and the last thing I wanted to see. This track here, when you drive into the corner, you commit and sometimes you don’t know what will happen when you commit. The last thing I wanted to do was turn him. I am proud of my guys for a really fast race car and it was another crazy Watkins Glen day.”
The spin to a seventh-place result was the latest spike in a weekend of peaks and valleys for Truex. His Furniture Row team provided a boost by announcing a two-year contract extension for its primary driver Thursday, then by formalizing its plans Sunday to expand to a two-car Sprint Cup operation with rookie Erik Jones in 2017.
RELATED: Jones to pilot No. 77 for Furniture Row in 2017
The lows included a mediocre 14th-place starting spot, triggered by the aforementioned hold-up in Coors Light Pole Qualifying by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Sunday’s final setback left Truex with something to file away in his memory as he and Keselowski charge toward the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs.
“We had (Hamlin) squared up a little off (Turn) 11 and maybe could’ve drag-raced him to the line. It’d have been fun to see, but it was all not to be with getting hit in the left-rear,” Truex said. “It’s unfortunate, but you know, hard racing at the end, all of us going for a win and all of us locked in the Chase. I guess he races with that mentality that, ‘Hey, it doesn’t really matter where we finish or if we finish.’ Just have to be mindful of that when we’re around him for the rest of the time.”
Keselowski also addressed the situation on Twitter after the race:
Frustrating finish, I feel terrible for getting into the back of @MartinTruex_Jr and bad for the #miller2crew for not winning w/fast car.
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Brad Keselowski (@keselowski)
August 7, 2016