Truex, Jr. to discuss penalty with NASCAR

Martin Truex Jr.

Martin Truex Jr. shored up seventh place in the Chase for the Sprint Cup points standings with a 10th-place finish at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday. But, he was not happy.

During a caution with nearly 70 laps remaining in the Quaker State 400, Truex entered pit road trailing only Kevin Harvick for the lead. As he approached his pit stall, Truex dove in front of Harvick and much to Truex's chagrin, was penalized by NASCAR for making an illegal pass on pit road, a penalty that dropped him to 22nd and likely cost him a shot at the win.

Truex insisted he did nothing wrong to deserve the penalty. He planned to speak with NASCAR officials about the decision to penalize his team.

"I feel like I did the same thing guys do every week," Truex said. "You get to your timing line, you step on the gas, and you head straight toward your pit. Obviously I turned left and came up next to the 4 car (Harvick) and passed him as I was driving to my pit, which is what guys do every week. I don't know why it was different (Saturday). I would think that if they didn't want us to do it any more, they would tell us in the drivers' meeting. But I mean, hell, I've been passed on pit road 15 times this year that same exact way – and I didn't see guys get penalized." Sporting News