Truex finds NASCAR winner’s circle again
Martin Truex Jr. overcame two early mistakes to win a wild playoff elimination race at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, an emotional victory for his Furniture Row Racing team following the death of a crew member the previous night.
Truex was already assured of advancing to the round of eight after winning a couple weeks ago at Charlotte. But after starting on the pole, the season’s most dominant driver calmly overcame a restart violation and a loose tire early on to win for the seventh time this season.
Hours before the race, the Furniture Row team learned that fabricator Jim Watson had died Saturday night of a heart attack while in town for the playoff race. He was 55.
“We were racing for Jim today,” Truex said. “He was a heck of a guy.”
Kurt Busch finished second before a wave of playoff contenders headed by Ryan Blaney, whose car failed post-qualifying inspection. He quickly worked his way through the field from the 40th starting spot to finish third, easily making it within the playoff cutoff line.
Chase Elliott was fourth and Denny Hamlin finished fifth to punch their tickets to the next round. Kevin Harvick finished eighth to stay alive heading to Martinsville, while Kyle Busch finished 10th and Jimmie Johnson 11th — both of them making the cut-off line.
Brad Keselowski finished 13th after his win last week at Talladega sent him to the next round.
Kyle Larson blew his engine to spoil his chances of advancing, while a penalty on Matt Kenseth for having too many crew members on the pit wall following a wreck ended his championship hopes.
Jamie McMurray and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also were eliminated from the playoffs.
Truex had dominated the Kansas track for years before finally breaking through with a victory in the spring. While he had nothing to lose on Sunday, there was still a feeling Truex wanted to win one for his late crew chief and the rest of their team.
“I can’t say enough about all these guys,” Truex said. “Just really proud of them, and definitely racing with a heavy heart. Jim was a great worker and put a lot of speed in these Toyotas.”
Larson began the race 33 points on the good side of the cut line, but he was forced to watch things play out after dropping a cylinder early in the race, then hearing his engine let go entirely.