Martin Truex Jr. threw it back to his own dominance from a few years back, both with the paint scheme and the driving.
The Winner
Truex won all three stages. He was up more than a dozen seconds at the end of the second. The high-horsepower low-downforce package made for hard-to-drive racecars, and Martin Truex Jr. drove his expertly.
The Race
Kyle Larson made it interesting at the end, but Truex was able to hold him off.
Notable Names
Kyle Busch blew a tire early but was able to stay on the lead lap, did fine the rest of the way, and finished 3rd.
William Byron came in 4th.
Denny Hamlin drove the heck out of his car on old tires at one point in a gamble, which didn’t end up mattering much but was still impressive. 5th place.
Kevin Harvick was 6th.
Chase Elliott was 7th.
Ryan Blaney had a few light encounters with the wall but finished 8th.
Chris Buescher got a big 9th-place finish.
Ryan Newman got a big 10th-place finish.
Chase Briscoe had maybe his best race of the season, coming in 11th.
Tyler Reddick grabbed some good stage points and finished 12th.
Joey Logano was 13th.
Christopher Bell was 14th.
Austin Dillon was 16th.
Alex Bowman was 17th.
Erik Jones had some late contact with the wall and wound up 18th.
Matt DiBenedetto was 19th.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was 20th.
Bubba Wallace was 21st.
Brad Keselowski wasn’t too happy with his car. Finished 24th.
Michael McDowell didn’t get much going. Finished 27th.
Kurt Busch caught fire. 35th.
Cole Custer got put in the wall hard. 36th.
Aric Almirola got put in the wall hard too. 37th.
Standings
Twelve down, fourteen to go pre-playoffs, which I guess means next week’s the halfway point.
1. Truex (3 wins)
2. Byron (1 win)
3. Logano (1 win)
4. Blaney (1 win)
5. Larson (1 win)
6. Keselowski (1 win)
7. Kyle Busch (1 win)
8. Bell (1 win)
9. Bowman (1 win)
10. McDowell (1 win)
11. Hamlin (261 points ahead of first driver out)
12. Harvick (117 points ahead of first driver out)
13. Elliott (114 points ahead of first driver out)
14. Dillon (48 points ahead of first driver out)
15. Buescher (19 points ahead of first driver out)
16. Reddick (last driver in, zero points ahead of first driver out)
17. DiBenedetto (first driver out, zero points behind last driver in)
18. Stenhouse (19 points behind last driver in)
19. Newman (22 points behind last driver in)
20. Kurt Busch (28 points behind last driver in)
21. Wallace (45 points behind last driver in)
…
25. Briscoe (70 points behind last driver in)
26. Custer (76 points behind last driver in)
27. Jones (80 points behind last driver in)
28. Almirola (100 points behind last driver in)
Thoughts, Implications
Rough way to go for Custer and Almirola, neither of whom could have done anything. Great day for Buescher and Reddick. Truex is intriguing as a potential championship favorite. Hamlin only has eight fewer playoff points than him, thanks to all the stage wins, and we’re not yet halfway through the regular season, but impressive stuff from Truex (and really impressive stuff from Joe Gibbs Racing, which has four cars pretty-much-locked into the playoffs and allied-team member Bubba Wallace not out of contention).
What’s Next
Dover next weekend. Then Austin. Then the Coca-Cola 600. Then Sonoma. Then the All-Star Race. Good little stretch this week and the next four.
Videos, Fun Stuff
Stenhouse spun Almirola. Some beef there would be fun.
Anthony Alfredo put Custer in the wall. Happy Mother’s Day.
Kurt Busch caught fire after NASCAR asked him not to:
Truex held on:
