Truex Jr. in control
Martin Truex Jr. has shown he’s in a class by himself during the NASCAR season
If the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series taught us anything in the first 26 races of the season, it is this — Martin Truex Jr. is in a class by himself.
For confirmation, one need only to listen to Kyle Larson, who won the regular-season finale at Richmond Raceway on Saturday night and enters the playoffs as the No. 2 seed behind Truex.
“(Truex) has been the class of the field all year,” said Larson, after collecting his fourth win of the season. “(He’s) just way faster. I mean everybody can see it. I’ve got the same amount of wins as him, but he should probably have like 10 or 12 wins if things would go his way more often.”
Larson, 25, isn’t exaggerating. Truex has led 1,646 laps, nearly 300 more than the next closest in the category, Kyle Busch. He’s recorded an astounding 18 stage wins, seven more than Busch, the only other driver in double figures.
But the real measure of Truex’s regular-season success is the 53 bonus points the Furniture Row Racing driver has collected via wins and stage wins, a new wrinkle NASCAR added this season.
Stages will continue in the 16driver, 10-race playoff, which features four rounds. Four drivers will be eliminated after every third race, with the final four advancing to the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 19.
So, Truex’s booty of bonus points would carry over until the four-driver finale, when everyone will be on equal footing, giving him a huge advantage and a wide berth for error. In comparison, Larson enters the postseason with 33 bonus points and Busch, the third seed and 2015 champion, carries 29.
Those bonus points will act as insurance for Truex, who was booted after the second round of the 2016 playoffs when his engine expired after only 41 laps during the elimination race at Talladega Superspeedway. Truex likely can escape that kind of calamity this year since he enters the postseason with a 50-point lead over the final qualifier — Jamie McMurray — and a 45-point lead over ninth seed Ryan Blaney.
And with the speed and domination Truex and his No. 78 Toyota have asserted all year, he’s hoping he won’t need them.
“Obviously, I think it’s a good thing that we have (the bonus points),” the 37-year-old New Jersey native said. “I think we could have used them last year, obviously with the way the playoffs worked for us.
“But I think for us, just focus on running as strong as we possibly can and keep the momentum going that we’ve had here lately. Our cars have just been lightning fast.”
Truex begins the postseason with 2,053 points. The remaining
16-driver field and their points: 2. Larson 2,033; 3. Busch, 2,029; 4. Brad Keselowski, 2,019; 5. Jimmie Johnson, 2,017; 6. Kevin Harvick,
2,015; 7. Denny Hamlin, 2,013; 8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2010; 9. Blaney, 2,008; 10. Chase Elliott,
2,006; 11. Ryan Newman, 2,005;
12. Kurt Busch, 2,005; 13. Kasey Kahne, 2,005; 14. Austin Dillon,
2,005; 15. Matt Kenseth, 2,005; 16. McMurray, 2,003.
But regular-season momen- tum, or lack thereof, doesn’t necessarily translate into the playoffs. Seven-time champion Johnson can attest to that.
Johnson reeled off two earlyseason wins last year, then spent the next 21 races collecting only four top-five finishes. The Hendrick Motorsports driver entered the 2016 playoffs almost under the radar before reminding everyone why he is one of the greatest drivers of all time: a consistent first-round, a win in the second round to advance, a win in the third round to put him into the championship race and finally a victory in the season finale after starting from the rear of the field. That title tied him with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. for most championships in series history.
The regular season is almost a mirror image of last year for Johnson — three wins in the spring, and then nothing — not one top-five since his June 4 victory at Dover International Speedway.
“I just think the tracks in the spring, the tracks in the fall work the best for us – the same places,” he said. “Nothing like Chicago for me or Dover, Charlotte, Martinsville and Texas (site of his first victory this season). Those are just great tracks; just can’t wait to get back to those tracks.”