Truex Jr. talks about the engine failure at Talladega

Truex Jr. sat on pole but his Toyota spilled its guts all over the track in the race

Martin Truex Jr. saw his championship hopes go up in smoke on Lap 41 of the Hellmann's 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway when his #78 Toyota suffered engine failure. A transcript of an interview after the incident:

Q) What happened that took you out of the race?
Martin Truex Jr.: "Just developed a vibration and started to lose a little bit of power. Originally I thought it could have been a tire because it was shaking worse and worse and worse until it was time to pit. I slowed down to hit pit road and felt the vibration still there and knew it was the engine. Definitely not the way we wanted today to go – it's a tough way to go out, but proud of the effort and proud of all the guys. The engines have been great all year and every once in a while you'll have a failure and it's unfortunate that it was with everything on the line. I don't know, it is what it is and it's racing. It's part of it and we'll move on. We're going to go try to win the last five races or whatever is left and have a good end to our season."

Q) Should the other Toyota teams be concerned for the rest of this race?
Truex Jr.: "I don't think so. I guess you never know, but it seems like we're still running the same engines at plate tracks that we've been running the rest of the year and they've been really good and really reliable. I'm sure it was just a part failure or mechanical issue. Just unfortunate."

Q) How difficult is it to walk away with this as the end to your championship hopes this season?
Truex Jr.: "It will be real hard when we win the next four races."

Q) What did you see when you were under the car in the garage and what happened?
Truex Jr.: "Got a big hole in the oil pan. It was a catastrophic engine failure, but all in all it's just a tough way to go out for us. We really thought we were going to have a good day. We had a fast Toyota and it's just a shame. We didn't really get to see what we had or see if we could make it through the big wrecks. I wish we could have raced all day at least and see how it shakes out. It's part of racing and that's the way it goes some days and unfortunately today wasn't our day."

Q) How would you sum up your team's Chase this year?
Truex Jr.: "It's been a roller coaster that's for sure. I wish we could have done a better job at Kansas and Charlotte and maybe had a free pass coming here. That certainly would have been big knowing the circumstances, but we did the best we could. We have a great team and we've had a great season and we're going to go out and try to win the rest of the races and see what we can do."

Q) How disappointing is this outcome after how strong your Chase has been?
Truex Jr.: "It's definitely disappointing, but what else can you say. We had a team capable of competing for the championship and unfortunately we're not going to be able to show that. I guess there's still a chance of a miracle, but I don't see it happening. Just have to wait and see how it all plays out today. Just disappointed, but all in all proud of my team for the effort. It's been a really good season for us. We've still got four more races we can go out and win and we plan on doing that. We'll hold our heads high, it's been a good year and it's disappointing knowing the possibilities, but all in all you can't do anything about it and that's racing some days."

Q) How is your team handling this situation?
Truex Jr.: "I'm sure they're devastated. They've worked so hard this year to put us in the position to battle for a championship and we felt like we could do it. This year and this sport is tough and we didn't perform at Kansas and Charlotte the way we were capable and we had some issues there and that put us in the hole and if we could have went there and done better and maybe got a win then we wouldn't be talking about this right now. We didn't get the job done, but we've got a great team and we've got four more races to go out there and try to get a win and I know we can win all four of them and that's what we're going to try to do."

Q) What were your thoughts when you realized it was the engine?
Truex Jr.: "Just damn, it just hurts to go out like that. We could have raced all day, got in a big wreck and still not made it – there's no telling, but it sure would have been nice to at least find out and at least play the whole game so to speak and see what would have happened. To barely make it to the first pit stop hurts. It's the way it goes some days. Some things you just can't explain. TRD (Toyota Racing Development) has done a great job with our engines all year long with no failures and our plate tracks engines have been great, no failures. I'm sure it was a part failure or some unforeseen circumstance and that makes it hurt a little bit worse even. All in all, we can't hang our heads and we have a lot to be proud of. This is going to make us stronger." Toyota Racing PR