Martin’s Ville, etc. etc.
The Winner
Martin Truex Jr. grabbed his second checkered flag of the year, further establishing himself as a leading Cup contender.
The Race
It resumed on Lap 42 after Saturday night’s rain, and it used the whole day it had ahead of it. Martinsville gets crowded, and when things are crowded, folks bump into one another. Plenty of bumping. Plenty of cautions.
Ryan Blaney had the best car for most of the day, but his battle with Denny Hamlin ended when his air hose appeared to get stuck under the car on a late-race pit stop. When it pulled out of the stall with him, it drew a penalty, and after the penalty he couldn’t get back to the front, leaving Hamlin and Truex battling out a battle Truex ultimately won.
Notable Names
Chase Elliott passed Hamlin to finish 2nd.
Hamlin was 3rd.
William Byron came in 4th.
Kyle Larson was 5th.
Joey Logano was around the front late, but had some poor runs and wound up 6th.
Christopher Bell was a factor but couldn’t stay a factor, finishing 7th.
Tyler Reddick quietly had a solid day, coming in 8th.
Kevin Harvick was 9th.
Kyle Busch finished 10th with a tattered car.
Blaney fought back to 11th.
Matt DiBenedetto fought through a significant quantity of damage and similar issues to get to 12th.
Chris Buescher was 13th.
Austin Dillon was 14th.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. came in 15th.
Bubba Wallace was 16th.
Cole Custer was 18th.
Ryan Newman was 19th.
Aric Almirola came in 20th.
Kurt Busch was 21st.
Chase Briscoe limped around the track with a beat-up ride and finished 27th.
Erik Jones’s car eventually couldn’t hold up. He finished 30th.
Michael McDowell wrecked out, finishing 31st.
Brad Keselowski was involved in a few contact incidents. He eventually wrecked out, finishing 33rd.
Alex Bowman had a nice day going but had to pit for a loose wheel and then got involved in a big wreck, leading to a 34th-place finish.
Standings
Eight races in, 18 more before the playoffs. Here’s the series stacks up:
1. Truex (2 wins)
2. Logano (1 win)
3. Larson (1 win)
4. Blaney (1 win)
5. Byron (1 win)
6. Bell (1 win)
7. McDowell (1 win)
8. Hamlin (194 points ahead of first driver out)
9. Elliott (75 points ahead of first driver out)
10. Harvick (68 points ahead of first driver out)
11. Keselowski (59 points ahead of first driver out)
12. Kyle Busch (27 points ahead of first driver out)
13. Dillon (24 points ahead of first driver out)
14. Stenhouse (17 points ahead of first driver out)
15. Buescher (7 points ahead of first driver out)
16. Kurt Busch (last driver in, 5 points ahead of first driver out)
17. Bowman (first driver out, 5 points behind last driver in)
18. Newman (23 points behind last driver in)
19. Wallace (33 points behind last driver in)
…
21. Reddick (46 points behind last driver in)
22. DiBenedetto (48 points behind last driver in)
…
24. Custer (53 points behind last driver in)
…
26. Jones (60 points behind last driver in)
27. Briscoe (61 points behind last driver in)
28. Almirola (76 points behind last driver in)
Thoughts, Implications
It’s likely we’ll get more winners from beyond the current top 16 in the standings, but it isn’t guaranteed, which makes it feel like we’re at a point at which the standings are meaningful. With that, Almirola’s the most surprising one struggling, followed by Bowman. I think everyone in the top 16 besides Bell and McDowell has made the playoffs before, so nothing too shocking up there. Interesting to look at, though, and striking that Hamlin and Harvick, who dominated so much of last year, plus Elliott, who won the championship, all have yet to win a race. Sure that’ll change soon, but striking (ditto for Keselowski).
What’s Next
Richmond on Sunday, then we get Talladega the following week.
Videos, Fun Stuff
I don’t have a video of this, but there was a weird flare-up between Cody Ware and James Davison, who are teammates:
Kurt Busch spinning and everyone somehow avoiding him:
Harvick smacking Wallace for bumping him:
Keselowski unhappy with Ross Chastain, and why:
Corey LaJoie getting blown up on pit road:
Big ol’ wreck:
Daniel Suárez’s car on fire (Byron had pushed him earlier when the two were stuck in traffic and I believe Suárez was already well-lapped—also, did Suárez say he saw multiple cars on fire? That was a weird interview.):
Blaney’s pit issue:
Xfinity fight:
Josh Berry won the Xfinity race driving for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team. Berry’s a part-time Xfinity driver and a big name in short-track racing, so folks were pretty happy about it.
