Truex Runs Away with Chicagoland Playoff Race

Nam Y. Huh/AP

JOLIET, IL - RIS - Martin Truex, Jr. proved why he was the regular season champion on Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway.  Challenges from Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick notwithstanding, Truex ruled the day, especially after mistakes made by Kyle Busch and his crew made the task easier.  After Busch won the first stage and Elliott the second, Truex took the lead in the Tales of the Turtles 400 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup race, it was off to the races with Truex leading most of it.

Truex again proved he’ll be the driver to beat over the final nine races as he chases his first Cup championship. Truex raced to his fifth victory of the season and earned an automatic berth in the second round of the playoffs, earning even more points in his bid to compete for the title in the finale at Homestead. Truex had a nearly 7-second lead over runner-up Chase Elliott in the final laps and won at Chicagoland for the second straight season. Kevin Harvick was third, Denny Hamlin fourth and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five.

The victory guarantees Truex a spot in the second round of the playoffs. It’s his 12th career victory.

“This is awesome, man. I’m so excited,” Truex said. “This is the playoffs — this is what it’s all about.”

Even though others led on Sunday, none of them had anything for Truex in the closing laps.

“I didn’t have anything for Martin,” Elliott said afterward. “But we had just a solid day all the way around.”

When asked of  Truex after the race if he’d made a statement with the victory, Truex said, “I don’t really care about statements. I’m just having fun, and I’m proud of this group.”

Kyle Busch led 78 of the first 80 laps to win Stage 1 of the race.

The second race of the NASCAR playoffs comes Sept. 24 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The top 12 drivers after the first three races of the playoffs advance to the Round of 12.

A few playoff drivers dug themselves a bit of a hole in Chicago. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hit the wall and got a commitment-line violation in the first stage that dumped him back in the field. He battled back, but later got caught speeding on pit road. He finished 25th. Ryan Newman finished 23rd and Kasey Kahne was 21st.

Sunday, September 17, 2017
Chicagoland Speedway - Joliet, IL - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 267 Laps - 400.5 Miles
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 3 78 Martin Truex Jr. (P) Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota 267 10 3 49 Running 2 77 5
2 8 24 Chase Elliott (P) NAPA Brakes Chevrolet 267 3 1 53 Running 2 42 1
3 4 4 Kevin Harvick (P) Jimmy John's Ford 267 2 2 52 Running 4 59
4 2 11 Denny Hamlin (P) FedEx Office Toyota 267 4 6 45 Running 1 1
5 6 42 Kyle Larson (P) Target Chevrolet 267 8 4 42 Running
6 5 2 Brad Keselowski (P) Miller Lite Ford 267 6 5 42 Running 1 1
7 7 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 267 5 7 40 Running
8 14 48 Jimmie Johnson (P) Lowe's Chevrolet 267 29 Running
9 10 20 Matt Kenseth (P) DEWALT/Flexvolt Toyota 267 7 9 34 Running
10 19 1 Jamie McMurray (P) McDonald's/Cessna Chevrolet 267 10 28 Running
11 12 21 Ryan Blaney (P) Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 267 26 Running
12 13 19 Daniel Suarez # STANLEY Toyota 267 9 27 Running
13 11 14 Clint Bowyer Rush Truck Centers Ford 266 24 Running
14 28 27 Paul Menard Moen/Menards Chevrolet 266 23 Running
15 1 18 Kyle Busch (P) Skittles Sweet Heat Toyota 266 1 32 Running 2 85 1
16 9 3 Austin Dillon (P) DOW Chevrolet 266 21 Running
17 20 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AXALTA Chevrolet 266 20 Running
18 22 10 Danica Patrick Aspen Dental Ford 265 19 Running
19 17 41 Kurt Busch (P) Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford 265 8 21 Running
20 27 34 Landon Cassill CSX Play It Safe Ford 265 17 Running 1 2
21 25 5 Kasey Kahne (P) Great Clips Chevrolet 264 16 Running
22 26 6 Trevor Bayne Performance Plus Motor Oil Ford 264 15 Running
23 16 31 Ryan Newman (P) Cat D10 Chevrolet 264 14 Running
24 21 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 264 13 Running
25 15 17 R. Stenhouse Jr. (P) Fastenal Ford 263 12 Running
26 29 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger ClickList Chevrolet 263 11 Running
27 18 37 Chris Buescher Scott Products Chevrolet 263 10 Running
28 23 13 Ty Dillon # GEICO Chevrolet 262 9 Running
29 31 38 David Ragan Camping World/Good Sam Ford 262 8 Running
30 30 95 Michael McDowell Devour Frozen Meals Chevrolet 262 7 Running
31 32 32 Matt DiBenedetto Incredible Bank/Ninja Turtles Samurai Ford 261 6 Running
32 34 15 Reed Sorenson Low T Centers Chevrolet 259 5 Running
33 24 77 Erik Jones # 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota 259 4 Running
34 37 33 Jeffrey Earnhardt hulu Chevrolet 258 3 Running
35 35 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 257 2 Running
36 33 23 Corey LaJoie # Jewel Osco Toyota 256 1 Running
37 40 83 * Brett Moffitt(i) JAS Expedited Trucking Toyota 255 0 Running
38 36 55 * Gray Gaulding # US First Responders Association Toyota 254 1 Running
39 38 66 * Timmy Hill(i) U.S. Chrome Chevrolet 254 0 Running
40 39 51 * Ray Black II(i) Chevrolet 251 0 Running
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 45 Mins, 16 Secs. Average Speed: 145.401 MPH Margin of Victory: 7.179 Seconds

Caution Flags: 4 for 21 laps: Laps: 82-87 (Stage 1 conclusion [14]); 162-167 (Stage 2 conclusion [27]); 169-172 (#1 Spin Turn 2 [21]); 211-215 (#77 Spin Turn 4 [27]).
Lead Changes: 12 among 7 drivers: Kyle Busch (P) 1-44; L. Cassill 45-46; Kyle Busch (P) 47-87; K. Harvick (P) 88-122; B. Keselowski (P) 123; D. Hamlin (P) 124; C. Elliott (P) 125-162; K. Harvick (P) 163; C. Elliott (P) 164-167; K. Harvick (P) 168-189; M. Truex Jr. (P) 190-211; K. Harvick (P) 212; M. Truex Jr. (P) 213-267.
American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award : Kevin Harvick, #4 Coors Light Pole Award : Kyle Busch, #18 187.963 mph
Ingersoll Rand Power Move : Dale Earnhardt Jr, #88 1 positions Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Toyota Racing Development (TRD), #11
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race : Kevin Harvick, #4 Moog Go the Extra Mile : Chase Elliott, #24 crew chief Alan Gustafson, -0.092 seconds
Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap : Kyle Busch, #18 Sunoco Rookie of the Race : Daniel Suarez, #19
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: Sep. 24, 2017 - New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Ron Fleshman

RIS NASCAR Editor.  Has been with RIS since the middle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.

Read More on Cup / XFINITY / Truck news
Volume 2017, Issue 9, Posted 8:31 PM, 09.17.2017