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  • Kurt Busch lands Busch pole award at New Hampshire

    Kurt Busch lands Busch pole award at New Hampshire

    Staff Report | NASCAR.com

    LOUDON, N.H. — Early bird Kurt Busch ran his best lap of the day in the final round of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series knockout qualifying at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to earn the top starting spot for Sunday’s Foxwoods 301 (2 p.m. ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

    The first driver on the track for decisive Round 3, Busch covered the one-mile distance in 28.511 seconds (133.591 mph) to edge reigning series champion Martin Turex Jr. by .019 seconds. Truex will start from the front row for the seventh time this season.

    “I don’t want to second-guess anything, so when the crew chief (Billy Scott) says ‘Go,’ you just go,” said Busch, who won his first Busch Pole Award in 35 races at the Magic Mile, his third of the season and the 25th of his career. “I like the way we made the right changes through each of the rounds, and we stuck to a game plan.

    “That’s exactly what you hope to have each time you go to qualifying, where you don’t have to deviate away from the plan you set in place.”

    In fact, the three rounds of qualifying for Busch followed a script that had been written before the first round began.

    “We discussed it, and the call was made back at the hauler before the qualifying session started,” Busch said. “It was almost like a non-discussion. It was, ‘This is what’s going to happen in Round 1, this is what’s going to happen in Round 2, and here’s what’s going to happen in Round 3’—and we stuck to our plan.”

    Truex felt he lost what could have been a pole-winning run in the first corner.

    “I just missed Turn 1 just slightly there in that last run on the first lap, but overall it was a solid day,” Truex said. “We had a decent practice – a short practice, you know, because we waited a little bit for the VHT (traction compound) to kind of get run in, and we went out there and ran and were probably a little bit off further on balance more than we needed to be at the end of practice.

    “So made some changes for qualifying, and the guys did a good job of getting it right and we were close. So couple thousandths, a few inches here or there in a different spot on the race track and might have been able to make it up, but a solid effort for us, and we can go get them on Sunday from second.”

    Led by his brother, Kyle Busch, Toyota drivers occupied the top five positions in Round 2, but Kurt Busch broke the monopoly in the round that counted in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Kyle Busch ended up third, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, as Camry drivers claimed positions two through four on the grid.

    Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman earned the eighth starting position in the fastest Chevrolet.

    “To come here and qualify a solid top 10 means the car is probably a whole lot better than that, which is a good thing for me come Sunday,” said Bowman, who entered this race weekend with an average starting position at Loudon of 30.8 and previous best qualifying effort of 18th.

    With Erik Jones earning the seventh position and Daniel Suarez qualifying ninth, JGR drivers placed all four cars in the top 10. Surprisingly, Busch was the only Stewart Haas driver to make the cut for the 12-driver final round.

    The Team Penske Fords of Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski will start fifth and sixth, respectively, on Sunday.

    RELATED: Qualifying results 

  • Will the Fearsome Threesome Continue Their Dominance at New Hampshire?

    Will the Fearsome Threesome Continue Their Dominance at New Hampshire?

    Martin Truex Jr. captured his fourth win of the season last week at Kentucky Speedway to cement his position as one of the top three 2018 Playoff contenders. He joins the dominating duo of Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch who have five wins each. To put it simply, 19 races into the 2018 season and three drivers have won 14 of those races.

    They are joined by Clint Bowyer with two wins while Joey Logano, Eric Jones, and Austin Dillon have one victory each. That’s seven drivers locked into the Playoffs with only seven races remaining in the regular season.

    Will the Fearsome Threesome continue their domination at New Hampshire or will a new contender arise?

    The top three have led a combined 2,552 laps this year and Harvick leads the way with a series-best 1,040 laps led. Busch is not far behind with 948 while Truex has led 564 laps. Busch has the second-best driver rating (100.8) at the 1.058-mile track with three previous wins while Harvick has two wins and the fifth-best driver rating (96.5).

    Truex has never won at the track but grabbed the pole last July and has three top 10 finishes in the last three races. A win here would have special meaning for the defending series champion.

    “I would have to call New Hampshire my first home track,” Truex said, “because I have been going there for a long time – back as a kid watching my father (Martin Truex Sr.) race. Winning at New Hampshire would be the biggest one of them all. It’s no Daytona 500 but it ranks right up there for me.”

    We could see a new competitor in victory lane from among the active drivers who are winless this year but have had past success at Loudon, including Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne.

    Hamlin has three previous victories at New Hampshire and is the defending race winner. He also has the series-best driver rating at the track (103.6) with nine top fives and 14 top 10s. Hamlin is currently ninth in the standings but this could be his opportunity to clinch a Playoff spot.

    “We’ve obviously had a strong showing at New Hampshire these past few seasons,” he said, “and our FedEx Racing team is returning with the goal to repeat last year’s success. We were able to come from the back and take home the win last July, and we’ll do whatever it takes to do that again so we can lock in our spot to the 2018 Playoffs.”

    Jimmie Johnson, searching for his first victory this year, has won this race three times but has not claimed the checkered flag here since 2010. But, in his favor, he has scored four top fives in his last five starts at New Hampshire and enters the race with the third-best driver rating (100.5).

    Johnson characterized the track as “one of the three toughest tracks to compete on for me. If you are up front and you have track position on your side, your day will go well. If you are fourth on back, it’s a crazy race. Maintaining your line and racing in traffic is just crazy.”

    There have been 24 different Monster Energy NASCAR Cup drivers who have won at New Hampshire. Could someone new add their name to this list?

    Kyle Larson, who finished in second place at both of the New Hampshire races last year, is poised to break through for his first win of the season.

    “I hope we can keep up our recent solid races at Loudon. Last season we had really good races there, with two runner-up finishes, and ran towards the front most of both races. We’ve been bringing fast Chevy’s to the track and are definitely close to scoring a win.”

    Tune into the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 Sunday afternoon as we get one step closer to the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Win and you’re in. With everything on the line, anything can happen.

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

     

  • Full schedule for Eldora and New Hampshire

    Full schedule for Eldora and New Hampshire

    Staff Report | NASCAR.com

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series will all be in action at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this week and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be at Eldora Speedway. Check out the full schedule below, which is subject to change.

    Note: All times are ET

    ELDORA
    Tuesday, July 17
    7:05-7:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, No TV (Results)
    9:05-9:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, No TV (Results)

    Wednesday, July 18
    4:30 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying, FS1
    7 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying races (Five 10-lap races to set lineup), FS1 (Results)
    8:15 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series last chance qualifying race (15 laps), FS1 (Results)
    9 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby (150 laps, 75 miles), FS1 (Results)

    NEW HAMPSHIRE
    Friday, June 20
    Noon-12:50 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
    1:05-1:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
    3:05-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
    4:45 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Busch Pole qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

    PRESS PASS (Watch live)
    10:45 a.m.: :Joey Logano
    11:15 a.m.: Martin Truex Jr.
    11:30 a.m.: Kaz Grala, Daniel Hemric and Ryan Truex
    11:45 a.m.: Ryan Preece
    1:20 p.m.: Denny Hamlin
    1:45 p.m.: Kyle Larson
    5:45 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying

    Saturday, July 21
    10:05-10:55 a.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, CNBC/NBC Sports App
    11:05 a.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying, CNBC/NBC Sports App
    12:35-1:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
    2 p.m.: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Eastern Oil & Propane 100 (100 laps, 105.8 miles)
    4 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Lakes Region 200 (200 laps, 211.6 miles), NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Follow live)
    6:45 p.m. NASCAR K&N Pro Series East United Site Services 70 (70 laps, 74.06 miles)

    PRESS PASS (Watch live)
    6:15 p.m. (approx.): Post-NASCAR Xfinity Series race

    Sunday, July 22
    1 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 (301 laps, 318.46 miles), NBCSN/NBC Sports App – Update: Green flag set for 4:15 p.m. ET after delay at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

    PRESS PASS (Watch live)
    Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race

    MORE: How to find NBCSN 

  • Kyle Busch Wins First Career Playoff Race at New Hampshire

    Kyle Busch Wins First Career Playoff Race at New Hampshire

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) continued their playoff run this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and the second race did not disappoint. Kyle Busch jumped out to the lead after a restart with 23 laps to go and was able to hold on to win his third MENCS race of 2017 and his first ever playoff win.

    Busch talked about the strategy moving forward since he is now locked into the next round of the Playoffs.

    “I think the biggest thing for us is to just keep focusing on what we’ve done all year long, just keep trying to go out there and run hard, run smooth and be good at what we do,” he said. “Obviously fast race cars help us being able to stay out front. We’ve got a good pit crew. They did a good job today, did everything right, and from there, we’re just trying to collect stage points, go out there and race as hard as we can, get stage wins, get race wins, and do what we can in order to keep padding that cushion that we have for the start of every round.”

    Busch started on the pole and led three times for 187 laps. When Stage 1 began, Busch jumped out early but on lap 40 it was all Martin Truex Jr. who took the lead and never looked back, going on to win his 19th stage win of the year. Kyle Larson, Busch, Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick round out the top 10 in Stage 1.

    Stage 2 took place from Lap 83 – Lap 151. Not much happened in this stage until, with one lap to go, Harvick was accidentally spun around by another playoff contender, Austin Dillon. This caused a huge wreck and chain reaction on the backstretch. During this wreck, Truex Jr., Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Danica Patrick and Jeffrey Earnhardt were all involved during the melee late in Stage 2. Eventual race winner, Kyle Busch barely missed the carnage by inches. The stage ended under caution and gave (Kyle) Busch the win. Kenseth, Larson, Keselowski, Jones, Truex Jr, Hamlin, Johnson, Blaney and Jamie McMurray comprised the remaining top 10 finishers in this stage.

    After the craziness in Stage 2, Stage 3 was restarted on lap 159. Busch once again went out and led the way. A few playoff contenders had their fair share of troubles. Hamlin reported a “tire vibration” and pitted for the issue. On lap 186, Austin Dillon was facing microphone issues and could not hear his team communications. With 83 laps to go, non-playoff contender, Earnhardt Jr., had a left front tire blowout and ended his hopes of trying to win for the first time this year.

    On lap 219, the caution came out for the fourth time as debris was seen in Turns 3 and 4. Dillon was able to get the free pass and was back on the lead lap.

    As often happens late in races, cautions breed cautions. There were three more cautions that slowed the field. On Lap 262, Kasey Kahne slowed in Turns 3 and 4. He eventually was held by NASCAR for intentionally bringing out the caution. Later, he went to the garage for suspension and track bar problems.

    “Something broke. I think they said trackbar, but that is all I know I didn’t talk to Darien (Grubb, crew chief). But, that is what he had said while we were in the garage,” Kahne said.

    With 33 to go, David Ragan spun around off Turn 2 and the caution flew once more. The last caution came with 28 to go as Trevor Bayne spun out on the backstretch.

    The final restart came with 23 to go and Busch was able to hold off Kyle Larson for the win.

    “So, we finished second again with our Target Chevy,” Larson said. “That’s a lot of second-place finishes this year, but I’m fine with second. Top fives will get us to Homestead, so hats off to everybody on our Target team. The pit crew was great all day. I think we gained spots every time. Normally I’m struggling on short tracks, but this year we were pretty good.

    Truex Jr. rebounded to a fifth-place finish after the wreck in Stage 2. He led three times for 112 laps and retains his position at the top of the playoff leaderboard.

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

    Playoff Standings
    1 . Martin Truex Jr. (W)
    2. Kyle Larson -24
    3. Kyle Busch (W)
    4. Brad Keselowski -43
    5. Denny Hamlin -61
    6. Matt Kenseth -62
    7. Jimmie Johnson -73
    8. Ryan Blaney -79
    9. Chase Elliott -79
    10. Kevin Harvick -80
    11. Jamie McMurray -96
    12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -105
    Below the cut line
    13. Austin Dillon -105
    14. Ryan Newman -106
    15. Kurt Busch -122
    16. Kasey Kahne -122

    Next Up: The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Dover International Speedway next Sunday for the final race in the Round of 12.

  • New Hampshire Motor Speedway–Did You Know? Playoff Edition

    New Hampshire Motor Speedway–Did You Know? Playoff Edition

    This weekend the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the second playoff race in the Round of 16. Martin Truex Jr. secured his spot in the next round with his win at Chicagoland while Kurt Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman are below the cutoff for transfer into the Round of 12.

    But, did you know that Busch and Newman are tied with Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson with the series-most wins among active drivers with three victories each? Kahne has one win at Loudon, three top fives and 10 top 10s. Of the bottom four playoff contenders, Stenhouse Jr. may face the biggest challenge. He has never won at the track and has only two top 10 finishes.

    The top competitors for this weekend’s race also include defending race winner, Kevin Harvick, with the fifth-best driver rating plus 10 top fives, 18 top 10s and one pole. Hamlin, who enters the event with the best driver rating of 104.0, nine top fives and 14 top 10s to go along with his three checkered flags, will be on the hunt for his third victory of the season.

    Three-time Loudon winner, Johnson, hasn’t scored a top-five finish since his win at Dover in June but expect him to shift into high gear as the playoffs continue. He has the second-best driver rating (100.8) at New Hampshire, 10 top fives, 21 top 10s and one pole. Kyle Busch has two wins, nine top fives, 13 top 10s and two poles and the third-best driver rating of 98.8. Brad Keselowski rounds out the top five drivers at the 1.058-mile track. He has the fourth-best driver rating, one win, three poles, six top fives and 10 top 10s.

    But, did you know that the New Hampshire playoff race has never been won by a non-playoff driver? However, five Cup Series drivers have captured their first victory at New Hampshire – Newman (2002), Clint Bowyer (2007), Joey Logano (2009), Robby Gordon (2001) and Joe Nemechek in 1999. This could be good news for driver Chase Elliott who is seeking his first series win.

    While this is only the second race of the playoffs, did you know that two drivers who have won the Loudon playoff race have gone on to win the championship the same year? From 2004-2010, New Hampshire hosted the first playoff race. Kurt Busch drove to victory lane in the opening event and continued on to win the 2004 series title. The track has hosted the second race of the playoffs beginning with the 2011 season. Tony Stewart won a series-record five playoff races in 2011 that included the first two, at Chicagoland and New Hampshire, culminating in his third championship.

    Tune in this weekend as the action heats up and drivers scramble to secure their spot in the next round of the playoffs. The ISM Connect 300 airs on September 24 at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

    In the meantime, check out the video below as NASCAR icon Tony Stewart wins at New Hampshire on the way to his third championship title in 2011.

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

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for New Hampshire and Kentucky

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for New Hampshire and Kentucky

  • NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-New Hampshire

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Preview-New Hampshire

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series continues the on-track action this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Not only do they continue the on-track action, but the Round of 8 begins and it starts the championship run to Homestead-Miami Speedway. Here’s a look at who will be hot this weekend in Loudon.

    Loudon is an interesting place for the Camping World Truck Series. The series raced there consecutively from 1996-2011. However, the series recently made its return to the track in 2014. Here’s a look at who’s hot at New Hampshire.

    There are currently 30 drivers on the preliminary entry list.

    Since its return in 2014, there have been three different winners in the past three races. Only a few drivers have experience here, while there will be rookies making their first start.

      1. Johnny Sauter – Sauter is carrying momentum after his win last week at Chicago. In the past three races, he has two top fives and three top 10 finishes, with an average finish of 5.7. With the momentum, it won’t be surprising if Sauter ends up winning at New Hampshire. Sauter is also hungry as he does not have a win at this track. Look for him to be a contender on Saturday afternoon.
      2. Christopher Bell – In one start at New Hampshire, which came last year, Bell finished a solid second. During that race, he even led 11 laps in his track debut.
      3. Matt Crafton – Crafton will look to put his dismal Chicagoland weekend behind him and it could happen this weekend at New Hampshire. In the past three races, Crafton finished third, second and third, respectively. Not to mention, he leads all active drivers with three top fives and top 10 finishes, and an average finish of 2.7.
      4. John Hunter Nemechek – If there is a track similar to New Hampshire, it’s Gateway Motorsports Park. Gateway was the site of his first win of the season. Nemechek may be the fourth best driver to compete this weekend. He has two top fives and three top 10 finishes, with an average finish of 6.3. New Hampshire just might be the place where Nemechek could once again set the Truck Series on fire.
      5. Kaz Grala – Grala has one start in the Truck Series at New Hampshire. In the 2016 race, he finished seventh. Something Grala once again has to do this weekend.

    On track action begins Friday at 1:30 p.m. ET with first practice and final practice taking place at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Qualifying is slated for Saturday morning at 10:05 a.m. ET and the green flag is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, all on FS1 and MRN Radio.

  • Truex dominates, then rallies from flat tire to finish third

    Truex dominates, then rallies from flat tire to finish third

    Until the last 80 laps, the Overton’s 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway had the making of another Martin Truex Jr. clinic performance.

    He earned the pole for the race, thanks to Kyle Larson’s pole time being tossed after failing post-tech, and led the entirety of the first stage, earning his 14th stage victory and 29th playoff point on the season. He pitted under the stage break, having passed up pit road during the competition caution on Lap 36, and drove his way through the field, earning a sixth-place finish in the second stage.

    Truex went back to the lead on Lap 175 and pretty much had the race in check, barring an unforeseen circumstance. That unforeseen circumstance came in the form of a flat right-front tire with 83 laps to go. This forced him onto pit road 20 laps before the rest of the leaders hit pit road for their original final stop and sent him from the lead to a lap down.

    Being on significantly fresher tires than the rest of the field, it only took him 12 laps to un-lap himself the old fashioned way and was back in the lead with 55 to go when pit cycle concluded.

    But while the tire advantage played in his favor, it swung towards the drivers who just pitted, as Matt Kenseth passed him with ease with 41 to go.

    Truex restarted third on the final restart, but didn’t pose a threat to the race lead, thanks to restarting on the bottom, and brought his car home third.

    “We were strong for the majority of the race but at the end we lost some speed and couldn’t get to the leader,” Truex said after leading a race-high of 137 laps. “The last restart we got the inside lane, restarted third. It wasn’t the place to be, obviously. I think the 11 (race winner Denny Hamlin) started fourth and that was really the place I would have liked to have been. And then we just didn’t get a good restart on the bottom and lost a couple spots and had to battle back and then just didn’t quite have the speed at the end of the race.

    “All in all, it was a hard fought day. We had to come from 24th at one point. A good job by everybody and a solid third place effort. Just didn’t have enough there at the end.”

    He leaves Loudon still the points leader, maintaining a 38-point lead over Larson.

  • Jones exits early after wreck at Loudon

    Jones exits early after wreck at Loudon

    Erik Jones’ day ended in last-place following an early wreck in the Overton’s 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Entering Turn 3 just after the Lap 41 restart, he suffered a left-front tire failure. At most tracks, because we run the inner-liner for the left-front, the tire would’ve simply un-chorded. But with Loudon being among the select tracks that NASCAR doesn’t run the inner-liner tires, he wound up veering straight into the Turn 3 wall.

    Video replay showed he made contact with Kasey Kahne exiting his pit stall under the previous caution.

    “I guess we cut a left front or a right front (tire) – I’m not sure,” said Jones. “Just made a little contact on pit road, but didn’t have any marks on the tires. We thought it would be fine but obviously not because we didn’t even make it a lap.

    “It’s just unfortunate. The 5-hour Energy Camry was pretty fast. I thought we had probably an easy top-10 car, if not huge adjustments away from a top-five car.

    “Just really didn’t need a day like this, trying to make the playoffs here. Really gonna have to work hard to try and get a win at this point. We’ll keep at it. We just need some good luck out way and hopefully, we’ll get it soon.”

    He leaves 17th in points, 331 back of teammate Martin Truex Jr.

  • Hamlin holds off Larson in closing laps of Cup race at Loudon

    Hamlin holds off Larson in closing laps of Cup race at Loudon

    Denny Hamlin took the lead shortly after the final restart and held off a hard-charging Kyle Larson in the closing laps to win the Overton’s 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    With all the lead lap cars hitting pit road under the seventh and final caution, race leader Matt Kenseth exited pit road first by taking two right-side tires. This cost him two laps after the ensuing restart with 35 to go when Hamlin got underneath him to take the lead exiting Turn 4.

    With nine to go, Larson cut the gap down to under a second. Lapped-traffic slowed his run towards the front, proving crucial to Hamlin scoring his 30th career victory in 417 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts.

    “I was just trying to do everything I could to pace,” Hamlin said. “I knew he (Larson) had a very fast car. It just seemed like we were able to get off the corner pretty good and I just ran kind of a pace there which I felt comfortable with. And just in case we had a restart, they wanted to burn the tires up.

    “Proud of this whole FedEx Office team, backup car. I put us behind the eight-ball on Friday, but it’s cool to win one like this.”

    Larson and Truex, who led a race-high of 137 laps, rounded out the podium.

    “I thought I was catching him (Hamlin) at a good pace, but once I would get closer to him, I would get in his dirty air a little bit and get tight,” Larson said. “But, I felt like if I had maybe five, eight more laps I could have gotten to his back bumper and maybe did something. He is probably the best short track racer there is out here. Especially, when it comes to short, flat tracks, but for me to get beat by him is not a cool thing, but I’m proud of that because Denny Hamlin, like I said is really good at this stuff.”

    “We were strong for the majority of the race but at the end we lost some speed and couldn’t get to the leader,” said Truex. “The last restart we got the inside lane, restarted third. It wasn’t the place to be, obviously. I think the 11 (race winner Denny Hamlin) started fourth and that was really the place I would have liked to have been. And then we just didn’t get a good restart on the bottom and lost a couple spots and had to battle back and then just didn’t quite have the speed at the end of the race.

    “All in all, it was a hard fought day. We had to come from 24th at one point. A good job by everybody and a solid third place effort. Just didn’t have enough there at the end.”

    Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five.

    Daniel Suarez, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top-10.

    RACE SUMMARY

    Truex led the field to the green flag at 3:17 p.m. Johnson was handed a pass through penalty for beating race leader Truex to the line on the initial start.

    Truex led from start to finish on his way to winning the first stage. He lost the lead under the stage break to Kyle Busch, who stayed out after pitting under the Lap 36 competition caution.

    It was the same story as the first stage, just with Busch at the lead. He led from start to finish and won the second stage. Teammate Hamlin exited pit road the race leader.

    Truex worked his way back to the lead on Lap 175, only to make an earlier than planned stop with 83 to go for a flat right-front tire. He un-lapped himself with 63 to go by driving past new race leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. He pitted from the lead with 55 to go, cycling the lead back to Truex.

    Busch was handed a pass through penalty for speeding on pit road during this cycle of stops.

    Kenseth drove down and edged out Truex at the start/finish line to take the lead with 41 to go.

    Ryan Newman’s spin in Turn 2 with 40 to go brought out the seventh caution and set up the run to the finish.

    CAUTIONS

    Erik Jones brought out the second caution on Lap 41 when he suffered a left-front tire failure and slammed the wall in Turn 2. Cole Whitt brought out the third caution on Lap 68 when his engine expired in Turn 1. Austin Dillon brought out the fifth caution on Lap 88 when he made contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and spun out in Turn 4. Caution flew for the sixth time on Lap 151 for the end of the second stage.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted three hours and 36 minutes at an average speed of 105.800 mph. There were 11 lead changes among six different drivers and seven cautions for 34 laps. There was also one red flag that lasted five minutes and 29 seconds during the first stage break.

    Truex leaves with a 38-point lead over Larson.

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