NASCAR drivers face 1st elimination
Martin Truex Jr. quipped after winning in August at Watkins Glen International that he was especially gratified to visit victory lane at one of his multitude of home tracks.
A New Jersey native who set the foundation for his eventual foray into NASCAR in under series around the Northeast, the 37year-old is familiar with and fond of many of the venues he now plies in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
“It’s really only three or four: Watkins Glen, Pocono, New Hampshire and Dover,” Truex said, sheepishly, after finishing fifth Sunday in Loudon, N.H.
Dover International Speedway just happens to be next, and there are good memories and anticipation attached to that track, too.
Truex, then in his second full Cup season racing for now-defunct Dale Earnhardt Inc., got his first win at NASCAR’S highest level at the 1-mile concrete oval in 2007. He won there again last fall to claim two of three races in the first round of the 2016 playoffs — he was eliminated after the second round and finished 11th in points — and returns this weekend as the points leader and dominant force of the season as the first three-race segment of the 2017 postseason concludes.
Though Truex already is assured his entry into the next round by winning the opening race of the playoffs at Chicagoland Speedway, he welcomes Dover as a pushing off point into a round that devoured him last season.
Three other drivers from the 16-driver field — Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski — are also safely locked in the second round.
Four drivers will be eliminated Sunday as the first round comes to an end, leaving 12 to battle in the three-race second round before the next elimination, Oct. 22 at Kansas Speedway. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Austin Dillon are tied for 12th in points after the firsts two races, but Stenhouse holds the tiebreaker.
Here is a look at the five playoff drivers on the brink heading into the Apache Warrior 400 presented by Lucas Oil: 12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Car: No. 17 Ford Team: Roush Fenway Racing Points: 2,044 (holds
tiebreaker)
Best Dover finish: Eighth,
fall 2015.
Notable: His kingdom is restrictor-plate tracks, with two wins this season, though Talladega Superspeedway doesn’t come until the next round. Stenhouse holds the tiebreaker for the final spot, but his first round has been marked by missteps and anxiety.
13. Austin Dillon Car: No. 3 Chevrolet Team: Richard Childress
Racing
Points: 2,044 Best Dover finish: Eighth,
fall 2016.
Notable: Sixteenth at Chicagoland and 19th at New Hampshire are not the kind of numbers that suggest a push into the second round, but his points position is favorable, considering. 14. Ryan Newman Car: No. 31 Chevrolet Team: Richard Childress
Racing
Points: 2,043
Best Dover finish: Won, summer and fall 2003; fall, 2004.
Notable: He has won three times at Dover — but that was more than a decade ago with Team Penske — and had been middling there until a fourthplace
finish this summer.
15. Kurt Busch Car: No. 41 Ford Team: Stewart-Haas Racing Points: 2,027 Best Dover finish: Won, fall
2011.
Notable: At 17 points off the advancement line, the former series champion and this year’s Daytona 500 winner is in need of a bold stroke. 16. Kasey Kahne Car: No. 5 Chevrolet Team: Hendrick Motorsports Points: 2,023
Best Dover finish: Fourth, fall 2011; summer 2015 and 2016.
Notable: Running near the top 10 for most of the race, Kahne saw his prognosis dim when a track bar broke late in the race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, saddling him with a 35thplace finish.