On the third lap of the 367-lap NASCAR Cup regular season championship, Martin Truex Jr. raced up the inside of William Byron for the sixth position. He lost control, shot back up the track and collided with Ryan Blaney in a shocking crash. Neither car was able to continue. Despite sounding oversteer on the radio, Blaney was checked out and released from the infield care center.

Truex, the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion, immediately took to the radio to take the blame: “I’m an idiot,” he said. He had a commanding 58-point lead going into the race, but it was nearly wiped out in that one moment.

“It was all my fault, my own fault,” Truex said after being released from the infield care center. “I got a run on the 24 (Byron) and I came in and thought I was good, and the car just took off and I hit him. That was my fault, obviously. I feel bad for my guys, Bass Pro Shops, Toyota, everybody. We had a phenomenal race car and I know this is the longest race of the year — just a dumb mistake on my part.”

This is Truex’s last full-time stint as a NASCAR Cup driver, with him announcing he will retire from the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at the end of the 2024 season. It’s his last chance at a second Cup title, but an early exit at Darlington now puts him in serious playoff danger. He won the regular-season championship last year but now sits without a win in the first 26 races.

“Yeah, I mean, it sucks,” Truex added. “We’ve had a miserable two months. Fast cars and nothing to show for it. Tonight again — tonight it was my fault. Sorry to my team and all the guys that work so hard.”

Truex said he was “surprised” when the car spun on new tires, lamenting: “(I) wrecked myself, wrecked (Ryan) Blaney. It’s unforgivable … I know better.”

UPDATE: After the second round, his rivals failed to score any points, meaning Truex did not make it into the playoffs.