Martin Truex Jr. focused on Texas race despite animosity over Joey Logano's 'cheap shot'
FORT WORTH, Texas â Martin Truex Jr. didnât deny his text to Joey Logano after he was spun out last weekend at Martinsville Speedway included profanity.
âI wanted to get his point of view and what he was thinking,â Truex told reporters at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday. âWhat he thought about it. Now I know.â
That knowledge didnât change how Truex feels about Logano nudging him out of the way just feet from the finish line at Martinsville. Like he did minutes after his third-place finish Sunday, Truex again dropped a âcheap shotâ mention on Friday.
Thereâs little chance Truex will seek retribution at Sundayâs AAA Texas 500 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN), where Ryan Blaney will start on the pole as Ford swept the top five qualifying slots. Plus, Loganoâs Martinsville win locked him into the Championship 4, so revenge here this weekend would be fairly hollow.
Truex, who qualified 13th on Friday, is among the seven remaining drivers seeking to compete for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship at the season finale on Nov. 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
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âI am not going to let what happened last week take my focus off of that,â Truex said. âI think itâs something that stays on the top of your mind â if you get in a certain situation where it would be wise to remember what happened. Thatâs there. I really havenât thought past that. I know whatâs on the line this weekend.â
Logano said he was in no hurry to contact Truex via text after his No. 22 Team Penske Ford bumper made contact with Truexâs No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota.
âI canât say I was surprised that he texted me,â Logano said. âI am glad he did. It kind of broke the ice. I was planning on waiting a couple days to let things settle. It got a lot of things out of the way. We both know where we stand.â
The budding driver spat hasnât gotten to the level of Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowskiâs running feud. Yet.
âI guess thatâs just the way itâs going to be,â said Busch, who won at Texas this spring and qualified 10th Friday as he seeks entry into the Championship 4. âI guess thatâs going to be the new norm eventually of some sort. Overall, itâs just thereâs certain guys and individuals that you can race that wouldnât do those sorts of things.â
Busch spun out Truex late in a race at Bristol in August, leading Truex to kick the side of his car in frustration. Truex told reporters afterward that he didnât think Busch wrecked him on purpose.
âSome people think itâs perfectly fine to knock a guy out of the way to get a win,â Truex said. âIn my opinion, itâs not. We all think differently. Itâs the not the way I have ever done it. Whether itâs Go-Karts or Modified cars. No matter what it was, thatâs the way I was taught to race.
"You race fair. You race clean and you race as hard as you can straight up. I can say that every single win I have had, I earned it. Thatâs just the way it is.â
Follow USA TODAY Sports' A.J. Perez on Twitter @byajperez.