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Martin Truex Jr.'s shot at another Pocono win took a hit on pit road

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The two collided on pit road in a forceful collision.

A week after his dominating Coca-Cola 600 victory, few things went right for Martin Truex Jr. on Monday at Pocono Raceway.

Truex, who had won at Pocono a year ago, finished 19th after suffering two mishaps: damage to his car in an early pit road incident and a flat right-rear tire under caution late in the race.

Truex was exiting his pit stall while Matt DiBenedetto was entering during a Lap 17 competition caution. They made contact, dropping Truex outside the top 30.

Truex was the first off pit road with 42 laps to go but had to pit again for the flat right rear. The team later reported that a flying lug nut from the old tire landed behind the wheel, shearing off the tire’s inner stem valve.

“It was a fluke, but that’s the way it goes sometimes,” Truex said. “We weren’t great, but had a shot at a much better finish than 19th. It was not the weekend we obviously wanted, but you just have to take what is given to you and move on. Michigan (next race) should be a good track for us and hopefully things will go much smoother.”

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