Truex Dominates at Kentucky Speedway Again

SPARTA, KY – RIS – Martin Truex, Jr won for the fourth time this season in a repeat performance of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup race at Kentucky Speedway.  There were rarely times where Truex wasn't in the lead during the race. The No. 78 Toyota led the most laps and only surrendered the top spot on pit stops and cautions in what was  his strongest effort of the year.

Truex picked up his fourth green-and-white checkered of the season in Stage 1. It was more of the same in Stage 2, as Truex drove on to collect his fifth mid-race win without much of a challenge as well. Last year, he set the record in stage-racing's inaugural season with 19 stage wins.

Ryan Blaney finished second in the No.12 Ford, with Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, and Kevin Harvick making up the remainder of the top five.

Truex started the race from the pole while contender Kyle Larson started from the rear after missing driver intros. As Truex led early on, Larson began working his way up to the front. It took the No. 42 just 20 laps to crack the top 20.

Green flag pit stops began about 25 laps into the race with Austin Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Dillon came in after reports of a vibration while Stenhouse had a tire rub. The rub, caused by apparent contact with Jamie McMurray, brought Stenhouse down pit road not once, but twice for repairs, putting him multiple laps down. Denny Hamlin came in early too after reports of brake issues.

Larson eventually made his way into the top 15 on Lap 32 as Truex continued to pace the field ahead of Keselowski. Truex pit from the lead around lap 40 as the remainder of the field followed.

Keselowski nearly passed Truex after cycling through pit stops but was penalized for a pit road speeding penalty before he could do so. The No. 2 Ford had to come back down into the pits for a pass-through penalty. Keselowski explained on the radio that he got confused about which line to slow down at approaching pit road.

Kurt Busch chose to stay out and stretch the fuel window while Truex, Busch and Harvick worked their way back to the front. The No. 41 eventually came down with less than 20 to go, handing the lead back to the No. 78. Truex would go on to win the stage, while Larson made his way into the top 10 after green flag stops.

Kurt Busch won the race off pit road after taking just two tires while Truex came in behind him with a four-tire stop. Joey Logano stayed out and assumed the race lead for the restart.

The No. 41 shot out to the lead to open the second stage with Truex trailing not far behind and Harvick in third. Just as Truex reclaimed his spot in the front ahead of Busch, Larson made his way into the top five.

Keselowski opted for two tires between stages and restarted from the lead ahead of Truex. Kyle Busch got loose on the restart and fell back but was able to save it quickly as Keselowski got a strong run at the green.

Despite a dominant effort early, Truex got into mild trouble early in the Final Stage, surrendering the second position to Larson. While those two battled for position, Keselowski took advantage of clean air in the lead. Truex eventually took second back from Larson 10 laps later as the No. 42 began to lose position with a broken trackbar.

Truex finally reclaimed the lead from Keselowski with 67 to go. As the No. 78 continued to move toward the front, JJ Yeley hit the wall hard and brought out the caution flag.

Kurt Busch again won the race off pit road with a two tire stop while Keselowski lost four spots after taking as many tires. Larson also lost over a dozen spots under yellow as his team repaired a broken trackbar.

 The elder Busch held the lead on the restart with Truex right behind him. However, it didn't take long for the No. 78 to reclaim the top spot. And that was the end as Truex drove on easily to win the race.

Unofficial Race Results for the 8Th Annual Quaker State 400 Presented
By Walmart - Saturday, July 14, 2018
Kentucky Speedway - Sparta, KY - 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 1 78 Martin Truex Jr. Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota 267 1 1 60 Running 5 174 7
2 7 12 Ryan Blaney DEX Imaging Ford 267 4 3 50 Running 1 1
3 4 2 Brad Keselowski Discount Tire Ford 267 34 Running 2 38
4 5 18 Kyle Busch Snickers Intense Toyota 267 3 2 50 Running
5 3 4 Kevin Harvick Busch Light Ford 267 2 4 48 Running
6 9 41 Kurt Busch Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford 267 7 35 Running 3 45
7 2 20 Erik Jones Freightliner Toyota 267 9 32 Running
8 12 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 267 9 31 Running
9 18 42 Kyle Larson Credit One Bank Chevrolet 267 8 5 37 Running
10 19 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 267 8 30 Running 2 5
11 6 21 Paul Menard Menards/Quaker State Ford 267 5 10 33 Running
12 8 14 Clint Bowyer Haas 30 Years of the VF1 Ford 267 6 6 35 Running
13 16 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 267 10 25 Running
14 27 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet 267 23 Running 1 3
15 11 19 Daniel Suarez ARRIS Toyota 267 7 26 Running
16 36 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 267 21 Running
17 22 1 Jamie McMurray Arctic Cat Chevrolet 267 20 Running
18 24 38 David Ragan MDS Transport Ford 267 19 Running
19 17 6 Matt Kenseth Performance Plus Motor Oil Ford 267 18 Running
20 21 24 William Byron # Liberty University Chevrolet 267 17 Running
21 10 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet 267 16 Running
22 13 3 Austin Dillon AAA Chevrolet 266 15 Running
23 20 37 Chris Buescher Gain Chevrolet 266 14 Running
24 23 34 Michael McDowell Love's Travel Stops/Roller Bites Ford 266 13 Running
25 29 95 Kasey Kahne Dark Matter presented by Ionomy Chevrolet 266 12 Running
26 14 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fifth Third Bank Ford 266 11 Running
27 25 43 Bubba Wallace # Petty's Garage/Medallion Bank Chevrolet 264 10 Running
28 30 15 Ross Chastain(i) Chevrolet 263 0 Running
29 28 13 Ty Dillon GEICO Chevrolet 263 8 Running
30 26 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger ClickList Chevrolet 262 7 Running
31 31 72 Corey LaJoie Monarch Chevrolet 260 6 Running
32 34 51 BJ McLeod(i) Prefund Capital Chevrolet 256 0 Running
33 33 00 Landon Cassill StarCom Fiber Chevrolet 256 4 Running
34 39 66 * Timmy Hill(i) Crypto Crow Toyota 254 0 Running
35 38 7 * Jesse Little(i) Chevrolet 253 0 Running
36 35 99 * Garrett Smithley(i) Victory Lane Quick Oil Change Chevrolet 251 0 Running
37 37 32 Matt DiBenedetto Keen Parts/CorvetteParts.net Ford 200 1 Vibration
38 32 23 JJ Yeley(i) Steakhouse Elite Toyota 199 0 Engine
39 15 88 Alex Bowman Axalta Chevrolet 108 1 Accident 1 1
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 39 Mins, 43 Secs. Average Speed: 150.454 MPH Margin of Victory: 1.901 Seconds