Martin accepts yellow flag decision

Martin had been leading during the closing stages of the race, and he was alongside Kevin Harvick when several cars behind them triggered a huge accident.

However, the yellow flag did not come out until after the leaders had crossed the line, and by then Harvick had snatched victory from Martin.

"I really thought they were going to throw the caution," he said. "I was still ahead, and they were wrecking behind. If they had thrown the yellow, it was in our fingers.

"Nobody wants to hear a grown man cry," he added. "They made the decision, and that's what we're going to live with.

"I gave it what I could, but I didn't get it done. I was looking back to see if I had any help, but I didn't have a pusher."

A NASCAR spokesman said that the caution flag was only thrown once Clint Bowyer's car flipped over, but Martin's former team boss Jack Roush believes that throwing a caution earlier wouldn't have saved anyone else from crashing.

"Throwing a caution wouldn't have affected how many cars got wrecked, so I see NASCAR's position," said Roush.

"They kept it going longer than they could have for the best result for Mark, but they wanted to see it run as long as it could."