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  • Truex ends Round of 16 at Charlotte with disappointing seventh-place finish

    Truex ends Round of 16 at Charlotte with disappointing seventh-place finish

    Martin Truex Jr. came into the final Round of 16 with momentum after collecting two of the three wins in the first round. Coming into the Charlotte Roval Truex was looking to sweep the entire round for the first time in his career.

    Things were looking great for the No. 19 team until final practice on Saturday afternoon. Truex’s Toyota Camary engine expired in the backstretch chicane, forcing Truex and his team to change the motor and sending the team to a backup car.

    The disappointment carried over to Sunday’s race where the New Jersey native missed the chicane and had to stop the on the front stretch. From there, the team struggled in the race trying to play pit strategy to gain track position. Truex was unable to get any top-10 stage finishes and wound up a disappointing seventh-place finish after winning the first two races in the Round of 16.

    “It was up and down for sure,” Truex said to PRN Radio. “To start from the back like that, get penalized from the beginning for avoiding a wreck for missing the chicane is pretty stupid. Started way behind there, made our way up to second. Just didn’t have a good enough car or to take the lead. Then I just got really lose at the end. We probably should have got tires, but we didn’t expect all those cautions at the end.”

    Truex will be seeded in the second position, five points behind his teammate Kyle Busch.

  • Byron earns top-10 finish at Charlotte after leading early

    Byron earns top-10 finish at Charlotte after leading early

    Coming into the Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte, William Byron and his No. 24 team were below the cut line and needed a strong day to advance. It all started out well on Friday when he put his No. 24 Chevy on the pole. At this point, all he needed to do was either win the stage or have a decent stage finish to move him forward.

    Byron led the first 21 laps before being passed Kyle Larson and finishing second in Stage 1 under yellow. In Stage 2, he finished 10th. Mid-race Byron drove back up front but was only able to lead one more lap before settling in the top five. There were a couple of more chances for Byron and the No. 24 team to make something happen but in the end, he finished sixth.

    “It was great,” Byron told PRN Radio. “For us to advance to the next round is awesome for our team. I didn’t really know what to expect going into these Playoffs. Chad (Knaus, Crew Chief) just handled the day really well. He was super calm, didn’t really have any criticism. He had some advice, we just kind of bantered back and forth. It was a really good day for us. We knew what the goal was and we accomplished the goal. Would have loved to have won that first stage but it was a great day overall.”

    Byron will now be seeded in the 11th spot heading into the Round of 12 Playoffs, 45 points behind.

  • Spin and win for Elliott at Charlotte Roval

    Spin and win for Elliott at Charlotte Roval

    Chase Elliott came back to win the Charlotte Roval by passing Kevin Harvick late for the lead. But it wasn’t easy. With 45 to go on a restart, he spun into the tire barrier while leading the race. However, with perseverance and a couple of lucky breaks, he found his way to victory lane.

    “I really just messed up,” Elliott described to PRN Radio. “I made a mistake that you should never really make. I’m not sure if you can do anything more stupid leading one of these races. Take lessons and don’t do that. Odds are, I don’t know how it didn’t hurt it (car). I hit the wall pretty hard. Guys did a good job fixing it, luckily our splitter was still close to the ground and got it done. I’m just wowed. As wowed as anybody out there.”

    The Charlotte Roval was the final race in the Round of 16 playoffs and that meant four drivers would be eliminated from the Playoffs. At the start of the race, a few drivers had to go to the back. Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman and Parker Kligerman had to start at the rear of the field because they had to go to backup cars, Landon Cassill for unapproved adjustments and J.J. Yeley for making a driver change. Martin Truex Jr. also had an engine change at the end of final practice.

    Stage 1: Lap 1- Lap 25

    The Charlotte Roval provided action on the first lap as Bowman missed the backstretch chicane and spun out. Truex missed it as well and had to stop on the front stretch. A couple of laps later, Bowman and Bubba Wallace had to serve a pass-through penalty for not stopping after the incident.

    The first caution waved on Lap 21, as the No. 47 of Ryan Preece wheel hopped the chicane on the backstretch. From there, a caution flew just a few laps before the first stage ended for a major pileup. Jimmie Johnson, Bowman, Erik Jones, Hamlin, Kurt Busch and Chris Buescher all wrecked in Turn 1 after a restart.

    With the incident, Stage 1 ended under yellow with Kyle Larson as the winner. William Byron, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top-10 finishers in the first stage. Larson was penalized for pitting outside the box under the stage break.

    Stage 2 began on Lap 27 and went to Lap 50.

    A few notable incidents happened in the second stage. Logano made a pit stop on Lap 37 before he came back to pit road after hitting a tire barrier in Turn 3. Then quite possibly one of the most notable incidents occurred on Lap 43, as Bowman retaliated against Wallace by wrecking him out on the chicane.

    A seven-lap dash was set up for the ending of Stage 2. This time it was Chase Elliott with the win. Keselowski, Bowyer, Johnson, Harvick, Michael McDowell, Truex, Suarez, Paul Menard and Byron were the top finishers in the second stage.

    Stage 3: Lap 54- Lap 109

    A lot happened in the final stage. On Lap 61, the No. 8 of Daniel Hemric spun around in Turn 14 to bring out the yellow. Then a pivotal moment came in the race. With 45 to go on the restart, Elliott locked up the tires in Turn 1 and went sliding into the wall. However, he somehow managed to get away with little damage.

    Another incident came on another restart with 43 to go, as Kyle Busch had a flat left front tire after making contact with Larson. Busch’s day went from bad to worse by being caught for driving through too many pit boxes. Then he was served a penalty.

    Pit stops started to begin with 35 to go. However, Harvick cycled out as the leader with 29 to go. Just as soon as the stops ended, a caution was flown with 25 to go for Matt Tifft who went spinning around in Turns 5 and 6. Another caution was also seen with 21 to go, as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. went spinning in the backstretch chicane.

    On Lap 92 the eighth caution came out for a major accident with Hamlin, Newman, Preece and Menard in Turn 6. However, the term “cautions breed cautions” came into effect late in the race. Two more cautions were seen before the race was over. One was for the No. 41 of Suarez after contact with Newman. The final one was for an accident in Turn 8 for an incident involving Kurt Busch, Chris Buescher, Newman and Preece.

    Due to an extensive cleanup, NASCAR was forced to fly the red flag with six laps remaining.

    Elliott made the pass on Harvick with six laps to go after the restart and held on to win his third race of the season.

    “It was one of the hottest races of the year for sure,” Elliott added to PRN Radio. “Was trying to make up as much time as I could. Obviously, I wasn’t going to catch Kevin (Harvick) without a caution. Just caught the cautions at the right time and had a couple of restarts that were mediocre I thought and the last two were really good. Luckily it felt like that, that’s not always me. You know, the timing and that, things kind of went our way.”

    “Just appreciate the effort, what a win for Hendrick Motorsports right over at the home track for a lot of guys. Nonetheless, it feels a lot like it. Just a big thanks to everyone making this happen and we’ll go on to at Dover.”

    Elliott led four times for 35 laps and picked up six playoff points.

    There were 10 cautions for 23 laps and 13 lead changes among nine drivers.

    Four drivers were eliminated from competing for the championship. Aric Almirola, Erik Jones, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman will not move forward in the Playoffs.

    Making it to the Round of 12 are Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Clint Bowyer, William Byron, Ryan Blaney and Alex Bowman.

    Official Results

    1. Chase Elliott, won Stage 2, led 35 laps
    2. Alex Bowman
    3. Kevin Harvick, led 34 laps
    4. Clint Bowyer
    5. Brad Keselowski
    6. William Byron, led 23 laps
    7. Martin Truex Jr., led one lap
    8. Ryan Blaney
    9. Jimmie Johnson
    10. Joey Logano, led four laps
    11. Matt DiBenedetto
    12. Michael McDowell
    13. Kyle Larson, won Stage 1
    14. Aric Almirola
    15. Ty Dillon
    16. Paul Menard
    17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    18. Chris Buescher
    19. Denny Hamlin
    20. Kurt Busch
    21. Ryan Preece
    22. Ross Chastain
    23. Austin Dillon
    24. Bubba Wallace
    25. Matt Tifft
    26. Parker Kligerman
    27. Corey LaJoie
    28. Landon Cassill
    29. J.J. Yeley
    30. Timmy Hill
    31. Joe Nemechek
    32. Ryan Newman
    33. Daniel Hemric
    34. Daniel Suarez, one lap down
    35. David Ragan, one lap down
    36. Garrett Smithely, OUT, Axle
    37. Kyle Busch, OUT, Suspension
    38. Josh Bilicki, OUT, Suspension
    39. Reed Sorenson, OUT, Electrical
    40. Erik Jones, OUT, Crash

    Up Next: Now that the Round of 16 had concluded, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers head to Dover International Speedway next Sunday, Oct. 6 for the beginning of the Round of 12.

  • Keselowski and Larson salvage strong finishes at Charlotte, advance to Round of 12

    Keselowski and Larson salvage strong finishes at Charlotte, advance to Round of 12

    It was an up and down day for Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Team Penske team. Keselowski qualified 11th and led three laps before having to settle for a fifth-place finish. At one point, he had to pit after he locked up the tires in the front stretch chicane. With the help of late-race cautions, Keselowski rallied to a top-five finish and advances to the Round of 12.

    “It was a pretty miserable day,” Keselowski said to PRN Radio in describing the conditions. “I joked with the boss on the radio, I’m not running black cars on a day like today. It is what it is, the red flag was pretty brutal. That’s part of being a racecar driver is dealing with that. The car was okay today, just made the most with what we had. The 9 car was just flying, no one could touch him all day. We did the best we could and got a decent finish out of it.”

    Keselowski finished sixth in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2. He will be seeded seventh when the Round of 12 begins at Dover, 22 points behind Kyle Busch.

    Kyle Larson had a decent day as well. He got lucky toward the end of Stage 1 passing William Byron before the caution came out to end the stage under yellow. Larson wound up winning the stage. He didn’t get a top-10 stage finish in the second stage but came home with a somewhat disappointing 13th place finish after being strong early.

    “I felt like myself, William (Byron) were the next best,” Larson told PRN Radio. “We won the first stage then after that pit stop, I didn’t wait on them to pull tape and kind of drug the crew member out of the pit box. Got a penalty there, pretty stiff one and had to lose a lap. Got the lucky dog, thought we were going to be okay.”

    “There at the end, we were on older tires, we had a slow stop because we had damage and couldn’t get the right front out. So ended up 13th, but felt like we could easily have been in the top three. Just disappointed with our finish to show how good our car was.”

    Larson moves to the Round of 12 seeded eighth, 40 points behind Busch.

  • Harvick and Bowyer advance to Round of 12 after strong finishes

    Harvick and Bowyer advance to Round of 12 after strong finishes

    It was almost a happy day for Kevin Harvick who led 34 laps but was passed for the win late in the going. Harvick qualified sixth, placed eighth in Stage 1 and fifth in Stage 2.

    He recycled out as the leader after pit stops concluded with 29 to go. However, cautions late in the going caught him at the wrong time and he was passed by Elliott on Lap 103 and eventually wound up with a third-place finish. Regardless of the top-five finish, Harvick was already locked into the Round of 12.

    “I thought it was a great day for us,” Harvick said to PRN Radio. “Everybody on our Jimmy Johns Ford did a great job. From last year to this year, to have the improvement and Watkins Glen to now. We knew we were off from the Hendrick cars on speed and they put me in a great position to win the race if the caution didn’t come out. I kept seeing that 9 (Elliott) getting closer and closer and didn’t really see the 88 (Bowman), but I saw he had fresher tires.”

    “Just proud of everyone at Stewart-Haas. We worked hard to be competitive and it paid off.”

    Harvick will be seeded in the fifth position, 18 points behind Kyle Busch. The third-place finish was Harvick’s 11th top five of the year.

    His teammate Clint Bowyer had a similar day. The Emporia, Kansas native had a strong car starting fifth, finishing third in both stages and at one point he was third after a restart. Bowyer was also up front at one point in the race before wheel hopping and losing a couple of spots.

    However, Bowyer and his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team did what they needed to do and are advancing to the Round of 12.

    “Going into the weekend, our backs were against the wall,” Bowyer said to PRN Radio. “We answered the call in qualifying. First of all, Mike (Bugarewicz, Crew Chief) answered the call unloading a fast car off the box. We qualified well, ran up front and passed cars. We did all the things we needed to do. Very proud of that race team, you never give up. It just shows, we were down and out after Vegas, could have easily been bummed out and gave up, but we didn’t and stuck to it.”

    “Had a good race last weekend and top five here. That’s good momentum and going to some racetracks that are good. I am not going to start this thing off on the wrong foot again like we did in Vegas.”

    Bowyer will be seeded 12th going into the next round of the Playoffs, 46 points behind Busch.

  • Byron wins pole in 1-2 sweep for Hendrick Motorsports at Charlotte

    Byron wins pole in 1-2 sweep for Hendrick Motorsports at Charlotte

    William Byron led the way at Charlotte Motor Speedway to capture his fifth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole this year and the fifth of his career. Alex Bowman qualified second for a 1-2 Hendrick Motorsports front-row sweep.

    Byron drove his No. 24 Chevrolet to a 103.198 mph lap on the 2.28-mile Charlotte Roval for back to back poles. He also qualified on the pole for this year’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May.

    “The guys did a great job with this car,” he said, “and it really takes every corner around this race track to get a pole. I knew we could qualify top five but I really wanted the pole and really kind of went out there and got it. So, I’m really proud of this UniFirst team. It’s going to be great to start up front.”

    His teammate, Alex Bowman, will start second after a 103.078 mph lap in his No. 88 Chevrolet.

    “That run wasn’t the best,” Bowman said. “I know it could have been better. William (Byron) just did a great job there getting through the corners. It’s definitely a positive to be starting on the front row and we just have to focus on getting stage points on Sunday. Very proud of this Nationwide #REALtirement team and the hard work they put in today.”

    Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top five followed by Kevin Harvick in sixth and Kyle Larson in seventh.  Martin Truex Jr., who has won the first two playoff races in the Round of 16, will start in eighth. Ryan Blaney, the defending race winner, qualified ninth and Paul Menard will roll off in 10th.

    Chase Elliott will start 19th after missing a downshift during his qualifying run which caused him to wheel hop and subsequently spin. Denny Hamlin was another playoff contender who will have to start from the back of the field. During the first practice session, he spun and hit the Turn 5 tire barrier damaging his primary car and had to go to a backup car.

    Erik Jones will start 15th followed by Aric Almirola in 16th and Kyle Busch in 17th as Ryan Newman qualified 24th. Kurt Busch, who won the inaugural pole on the Roval last year, qualified his Chip Ganassi Chevrolet in 23rd.

    The Bank of America Roval 400 is set for Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC with radio coverage by PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

  • Weekend Schedule for Charlotte Roval

    Weekend Schedule for Charlotte Roval

    This weekend the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series head to Charlotte Motor Speedway. It will serve as the elimination race in the Round of 16 Cup Series Playoffs, trimming the field to 12 drivers. Ryan Blaney won the inaugural Bank of America Roval 400 last year.

    The Xfinity Series will feature the second of three playoff races in the Round of 12 at Charlotte. Chase Briscoe returns as the defending race winner. The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series is off and will return to competition at Talladega Superspeedway Saturday, Oct. 12.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, Sept. 27

    12:05 p.m. – 12:55 p.m.: Cup Series First Practice – NBCSN Tape delay at 2 p.m./ NBC Sports App

    1:05 p.m. – 2:25 p.m.: Xfinity Series First Practice – NBC Sports App

    3:05 p.m. – 3:55 p.m.: Xfinity Series Final Practice – NBCSN

    4:40 P.M.: Cup Series Qualifying – Multi-Vehicle/Two Rounds – NBCSN/PRN/ SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Saturday, Sept. 28

    11:05 A.M. – 11:55 a.m.: Cup Series Second Practice – NBC Sports App

    12:10 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – Impound Multi-Vehicle/Two Rounds – NBC Sports App/NBCSN joins at 12:30 p.m.

    2 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN

    3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (155.3 miles, 67 laps), Stage 1 ends on Lap 20, Stage 2 ends on Lap 40, Final Stage ends on Lap 67 – NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Sunday, Sept. 29

    2:30 p.m.: Cup Series Bank of America Roval 400 (248.52 miles, 109 laps) Stage 1 ends on Lap 25, Stage 2 ends on Lap 50, Final Stage ends on Lap 109 –  NBC/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Cup Series Playoff Standings Prior to Bank of America Roval 400

    RankDriverPointsStartsRace WinsStage WinsPlayoff PtsPts From Cutoff
    1Martin Truex Jr.2,141286541In On Wins
    2Kevin Harvick2,120283528Clinched on Points
    3Kyle Busch2,1172841146Clinched on Points
    4Brad Keselowski2,10628342455
    5Denny Hamlin2,10528433054
    6Joey Logano2,10128292950
    7Chase Elliott2,08828241837
    8Kyle Larson2,0762804525
    9Ryan Newman2,0652800014
    10Ryan Blaney2,059280248
    11Aric Almirola2,054280113
    12William Byron2,053280112
    13Alex Bowman2,05128105-2
    14Clint Bowyer2,04928000-4
    15Kurt Busch2,039281311-14
    16Erik Jones2,00828105-45

    Xfinity Series Playoff Standings Prior to Drive for the Cure 250

    Rank Driver Points Starts Race Wins Stage Wins Playoff Pts Pts From Cutoff
    1 Christopher Bell (P) 2,115 27 7 17 62 In On Wins
    2 Cole Custer (P) 2,093 27 6 6 44 60
    3 Tyler Reddick (P) 2,071 27 5 4 44 38
    4 Austin Cindric (P) 2,067 27 2 1 17 34
    5 Justin Allgaier (P) 2,054 27 0 5 12 21
    6 Michael Annett (P) 2,051 27 1 1 9 18
    7 Chase Briscoe # (P) 2,050 27 1 2 12 17
    8 Noah Gragson # (P) 2,048 27 0 1 5 15
    9 Brandon Jones (P) 2,033 27 0 3 4 -15
    10 Ryan Sieg (P) 2,029 27 0 1 1 -19
    11 Justin Haley # (P) 2,028 27 0 1 3 -20
    12 John H. Nemechek # (P) 2,027 27 0 0 0 -21

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Richmond

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Richmond

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex passed Kyle Busch for the lead on Lap 26 and won the Federated Auto Parts 400, his second consecutive win.

    “I had to overcome getting spun out by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. while I was leading,” Truex said. “Ricky’s made a habit of doing things like this. He’s ruined days, night, weekends, marriages, etc.”

    2. Kyle Busch: Busch won Stage 2 but couldn’t hold off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr., who got by Busch and cruised to the win.

    “We both had to deal with a lot of lapped traffic,” Busch said. “As you know, lapped traffic can sometimes be your best friend and sometimes be your worst enemy. Currently, lapped traffic is my worst enemy, on and off the track.”

    3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin took third at Richmond as Joe Gibbs Racing cars took the top four spots until Erik Jones was disqualified from the fourth-place finish.

    “JGR was so dominant,” Hamlin said, “we may have put the rest of the teams down for the count. That count is ‘1-2-3-4.’ Unfortunately, Jones suffered a technical knockout.”

    4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished seventh at Richmond and secured a spot in the next round of the playoffs.

    “Having my spot in the next round assured really takes the pressure off,” Harvick said. “It always better to have your place ‘clinched,’ as opposed to your sphincter.”

    5. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski started on the pole and finished fourth at Richmond.

    “I was originally scored in fifth,” Keselowski said, “but Erik Jones was disqualified after his car failed post-race inspection. Jones didn’t pass inspection and if Penske’s performance was any indication as to whether we have anything for Joe Gibbs Racing, then we didn’t ‘pass muster.’”

    6. Joey Logano: Logano struggled at Richmond and finished 12th.

    “I’m certainly not in the championship form I was in last year,” Logano said. “It’s basically the same car, but for some reason, I’m a ‘Shell’ of my former self.”

    7. Chase Elliott: Elliott started third and finished 14th at Richmond.

    “We’re headed to Charlotte for the first elimination race of the playoffs,” Elliott said. “There will be tension, there will be desperation, there will be anxiety. But enough about traffic on Bruton Smith Boulevard. I think everyone can agree that placing Kyle Busch right in the middle of that traffic would make it entertaining for everyone.”

    8. Kyle Larson: Larson finished sixth in the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond and is eighth in the playoff points standings.

    “Erik Jones became the first driver to be disqualified under NASCAR’s new crackdown on rules infringements,” Larson said. “I think NASCAR should be applauded for doing this. Let me clarify that last statement. NASCAR should be sarcastically applauded for doing that. This must be an aspect of NASCAR’s new ‘Rules Are Rules’ initiative.”

    9. Ryan Blaney: Blaney came home 17th at Richmond and is 10th in the playoff standings.

    “I’m looking forward to the ‘Roval’ and Charlotte Motor Speedway,” Blaney said. “Last year, I won when Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson wrecked at the last corner racing for the lead. Here’s hoping lightning strikes twice. By that, I mean I hope lightning strikes the two leading cars and allows me to win again.”

    10. Ryan Newman: Newman finished fifth at Richmond.

    “I’m putting Roush Fenway Racing back on the map,” Newman said. “And speaking of ‘maps,’ it’s been so long since Roush Fenway visited Victory Lane, they probably need directions to get there.”

  • Keselowski earns top-five finish at Richmond

    Keselowski earns top-five finish at Richmond

    Brad Keselowski started on the pole heading into Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond. Keselowski swapped the lead a couple of times in the race. He led the first 53 laps before quietly running in the top five. The Team Penske driver took the lead again on Lap 246 and led for 36 laps during that stint.

    However, those were the only times Keselowski would be up front. After leading 89 laps, he wound up finishing in fifth place. But, after the No. 20 of Erik Jones failed post-race inspection, the No. 2 driver was moved up in the running order and was credited with a fourth-place finish.

    When asked about the dominance of the Joe Gibbs Racing cars, Keselowski said, “It’s definitely not good news. We’ve got work to do. They’re really strong and we’re not where we need to be to be able to beat them heads-up, but we threw everything we had at them. We put down a great qualifying lap, got the first pit stall, had great pit stops and got to the lead, but just didn’t have the raw speed to keep it.”

    While admitting that their organization has some work to do, he was satisfied with what they were able to accomplish Saturday night at Richmond Raceway.

    “We led eighty-some laps, so it’s not a bad day but just not nearly fast enough to dominate the race and win.”

    “Yeah, we’re locked into the next round.  That feels good.  I’m proud of that effort.”

  • Spin and win for Truex Jr. at Richmond

    Spin and win for Truex Jr. at Richmond

    After making contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. mid-race, Martin Truex Jr. was able to rebound. He took the lead from his teammate Kyle Busch with 25 laps to go en route to his sixth victory of the season.

    “Yeah, that’s unbelievable, that’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened to me in my whole racing career,” Truex Jr said to MRN Radio. Thanks to all the fans coming out tonight, everyone at Bass Pro Shops; our Camary was really fast tonight. Just takes a lot of people to make this happen.”

    “I felt good coming into the race. We’ve had a lot of heartbreakers over the years at Richmond and to come here to sweep this year, I guess it’s meant to be. Thanks to all of our guys. Toyota, TRD, Auto-Owners, all of our partners that let us do this. Everyone back at Joe Gibbs Racing, they’re building unbelievable racecars. I hope we can keep this up and we came here to get bonus points, and we sure did.”

    Brad Keselowski qualified on the pole Friday afternoon, while Truex qualified eighth. Only one car had to go to the back and that was the No. 27 Quin Houff for unapproved adjustments.

    Stage 1: Lap 1- Lap 100

    It was clean and green for the first stage. Truex took the lead from pole-sitter Brad Keselowski on Lap 54 and held on to win Stage 1. There were no cautions.

    Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Matt DiBenedetto, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top-10 finishers for the first stage. One minor incident took place during the stage break. The No. 13 of Ty Dillon was too fast on pit road and the No. 36 of Matt Tifft was too fast as well. Kyle Busch assumed the race lead after pit stops.

    Stage 2: Lap 108- Lap 200

    One caution broke out during the second stage. On Lap 111, Alex Bowman was sent spinning around after contact with the No. 3 of Austin Dillon. A few laps before, Bowman made slight contact with Dillon. Under the caution, Joey Logano who was struggling all night received the free pass. Kurt Busch and Keselowski also made pit stops.

    Stage 2 ended on lap 200 and Kyle Busch went on to win the stage. Truex, Hamlin, Jones, Keselowski, Ryan Newman, Harvick, Elliott, Bowyer and Johnson swept the top-10 spots for the second stage. Kurt Busch and William Byron were penalized on pit road for being too fast after stops.

    Stage 3: Lap 209- Lap 400

    Just two cautions took place in the final stage. On Lap 242, Reed Sorenson hit the wall on the backstretch. During his attempt at a pit stop, Jimmie Johnson missed his pit stall and had to come back down to complete his pit stop. Almirola was caught with a speeding penalty during stops.

    Keselowski was able to take the lead on Lap 246 and led for 36 laps before Truex retook the lead on Lap 282. As the race was going smoothly, a major incident happened on Lap 316 when Stenhouse, on cold tires, accidentally made contact with race leader Truex. Truex went spinning around on the front stretch.

    After the caution and pit stops, Kyle Busch assumed the lead again and was making his way around the track. However, Truex began to reel in his teammate as laps started to click away. With 25 to go, he was finally able to take the lead from Busch and eventually the win.

    “I was just trying to stay out of the fence and tried to get it straightened out,” Truex added to MRN Radio. “Luckily we got a caution and ended up in a pretty good spot, and came down pit road. We had a pretty big lead there and we took advantage of it. From there, we just battled, had to pass the 11 (Hamlin), the 18 (Busch). I knew it was going to be really tough to get by both of them. They were strong all night long and track position was important. I don’t know if the 18 fell off on the long run or if we were a little better at the end, and made a move.”

    Kyle Busch ended up in second after winning Stage 2 and leading the most laps with 202.

    “We were a little bit off,” Busch told MRN Radio. “Just missed a little bit. We were pretty fast and led a lot of laps, but when we’re out front leading, he could keep close to me pretty well. That kind of worried me for a finish like that and wasn’t sure we would be able to hold him off. At the start of that last run, Denny (Hamlin) pressured me a little bit, so I tried to make sure to stay ahead of him and that’s when Martin started to come on. Martin was just on better tires there throughout the rest of the run, so I don’t know if I hurt my stuff or what. Great job to the team. Everybody on this MMS Camry did a great job. We can now just focus forward.”

    With Truex winning and Kyle Busch finishing second, both are locked into the Round of 12. Kevin Harvick also clinched a spot in the next round.

    Truex swept both Richmond races this year. This was his sixth victory of the season. He led three times for 109 laps for the 25th victory of his career.

    There were five cautions for 32 laps and seven leaders among six lead changes.

    UPDATE: Erik Jones’ car failed post-race inspection. He will be credited with a last-place finish and receive one point.

    Playoff Standings

    1. Truex Jr, 2 wins, 2141 points
    2. Kevin Harvick, +69
    3. Kyle Busch, +66
    4. Brad Keselowski, +55
    5. Denny Hamlin, +54
    6. Joey Logano, +50
    7. Chase Elliott, +37
    8. Kyle Larson, +25
    9. Ryan Newman, +14
    10. Ryan Blaney, +8
    11. Aric Almirola, +3
    12. William Byron, +
      Below the Cut Line
    13. Alex Bowman, -2
    14. Clint Bowyer. -4
    15. Kurt Busch, -14
    16. Erik Jones, -45

    Official Results

    1. Martin Truex Jr., led 109 laps, won Stage 1
    2. Kyle Busch, led 202 laps, won Stage 2
    3. Denny Hamlin
    4. Brad Keselowski, led 89 laps
    5. Ryan Newman
    6. Kyle Larson
    7. Kevin Harvick
    8. Clint Bowyer
    9. Daniel Suarez
    10. Jimmie Johnson
    11. Joey Logano
    12. Bubba Wallace
    13. Chase Elliott, one lap down
    14. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap down
    15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr, one lap down
    16. Aric Almirola, one lap down
    17. Ryan Blaney, one lap down
    18. Kurt Busch, two laps down
    19. David Ragan, two laps down
    20. Matt Tifft, three laps down
    21. Michael McDowell, three laps down
    22. Austin Dillon, four laps down
    23. Alex Bowman, four laps down
    24. William Byron, four laps down
    25. Daniel Hemric, four laps down
    26. Ty Dillon, four laps down
    27. Paul Menard, five laps down
    28. Landon Cassill, five laps down
    29. Corey LaJoie, five laps down
    30. Ryan Preece, six laps down
    31. Chris Buescher, seven laps down
    32. Austin Theriault, eight laps down
    33. J.J. Yeley, nine laps down
    34. Spencer Boyd, 12 laps down
    35. Quin Houff, 16 laps down
    36. Ross Chastain, OUT, Brakes
    37. Reed Sorenson, OUT, Crash
    38. Erik Jones, failed post-race inspection

    Up Next: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competes next week at Charlotte Motor Speedway, home of the Roval and the final race in the Round of 16.