{"id":5564,"date":"2016-09-18T19:42:10","date_gmt":"2016-09-19T00:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=5564"},"modified":"2016-09-18T19:42:10","modified_gmt":"2016-09-19T00:42:10","slug":"truex-triumphs-in-chase-for-the-nascar-sprint-cup-opener-at-chicagoland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2016\/09\/18\/truex-triumphs-in-chase-for-the-nascar-sprint-cup-opener-at-chicagoland\/","title":{"rendered":"Truex triumphs in Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup opener at Chicagoland"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

NASCAR Wire Service<\/b><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

JOLIET, Ill. \u2013 You could see it coming from a mile-and-a-half away.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

On new tires, Martin Truex Jr. rocketed around the outside lane after a restart in overtime at Chicagoland Speedway and pulled away to win Sunday\u2019s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, the opening race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Martin

Martin Truex Jr, driver of the #78 Furniture Row\/Denver Mattress Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 18, 2016 in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo by Kena Krutsinger\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

With the victory\u2014his first at the 1.5-mile track, his third of the season and the sixth of his career\u2014Truex also rocketed into the Chase\u2019s Round of 12. But Truex wasn\u2019t satisfied with a ticket into the next round and the prospect of racing stress-free at New Hampshire and Dover, the final two Round of 16 events.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

“We have more races to win\u2014the more we can win, the better,” said Truex, who holds the lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings for the first time in his career. “What can I say? This is how we want to start off. This feels awesome.”<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Truex lost a lap during an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 69 of 270 to change a flat right front tire, but he returned to the lead lap as the highest-scored lapped car when NASCAR called the second caution of the race on Lap 120 for Brian Scott\u2019s spin off Turn 4.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota, who led 30 laps in the early going, didn\u2019t regain the top spot until the restart in overtime on Lap 269, when he restarted fourth in the top lane and quickly dispatched Ryan Blaney, Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards, who had stayed out on old tires under the final caution, called on Lap 263 when Michael McDowell shredded his right front tire.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Martin

Martin Truex Jr, driver of the #78 Furniture Row\/Denver Mattress Toyota, approaches the finish line on his way to winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 18, 2016 in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk\/NASCAR via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Joey Logano came from sixth to second in the two-lap overtime, trailing Truex at the stripe by .776 seconds. Chase Elliott won a drag race for third against fellow Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Blaney, with Brad Keselowski crossing the finish line in fifth.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“On one hand, the bad luck was going to bite us, and on the other, we had a lot of time to battle back,” Truex said of the flat tire. “We\u2019re lucky it happened early, and we were able to have an awesome race car all day.”\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

But for a lightning-fast pit stop that got Truex off pit road ahead of Elliott on the final stop, the outcome might have been markedly different. Elliott had held a one-second lead with four of 267 scheduled laps left before McDowell\u2019s tire problem slowed the field and put the race in the hands of the pit crews.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

While Truex restarted in overtime on the outside of the second row with a clear lane to the front, Elliott took the green in fifth, boxed in at the bottom of the track.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Martin

Martin Truex Jr, driver of the #78 Furniture Row\/Denver Mattress Toyota, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 18, 2016 in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo by Robert Laberge\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

“That\u2019s just part of it,” Elliott of the late caution that perhaps deprived the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of his first victory. “You\u2019ve got to expect it and be able to embrace it and move forward. I feel like we did a good job controlling the things that we could control today.\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

“We had a fast NAPA Chevy. I appreciate everybody\u2019s hard work this weekend. Hendrick was strong\u2014that\u2019s good to see. Like I said, there are some things you just can\u2019t control with the amount of guys that stay out (under caution) and where you line up on a restart. We played the cards we were dealt and came up short.”<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Elliott can console himself with the knowledge that other Chase drivers had far more serious issues.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Kevin Harvick, the 2014 series champion, was trapped a lap down on pit road\u2014by roughly two feet\u2014when a runaway tire from Aric Almirola\u2019s car forced the first caution on Lap 49. Harvick never got the lap back and finished 20th.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Martin

Martin Truex Jr, driver of the #78 Furniture Row\/Denver Mattress Toyota, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on September 18, 2016 in Joliet, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

He leaves Chicagoland 14th in the Chase standings and in danger of elimination from the playoff after the Oct. 1 race at Dover, where the Chase will be pared to 12 drivers.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Jimmie Johnson led a race-high 118 laps but finished 12th after serving a pass-through penalty for a pit road speeding infraction on Lap 234. Rookie Chris Buescher struggled to a 28th-place finish in an ill-handling car and heads to New Hampshire 16th in the standings, with his prospects of advancing to the Round of 12 significantly dimmed.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kyle Larson was forced to pit road on Lap 260 with a tire deflating, finished 18th and is 15th in the Chase standings.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Harvick, Buescher and Larson aside, Chase drivers held serve, taking 13 of the top 16 finishing positions. The only exceptions were Blaney, seventh-place Kasey Kahne and 10th-place Alex Bowman, who in relief of sidelined Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored the first top 10 with the No. 88 Chevrolet since Earnhardt ran second at Pocono in early June.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Note: Both Truex’s winning car and Johnson’s 12th-place car failed the laser inspection station post-race. Since both failed by a slight margin, NASCAR officials said the infraction to the No. 78 Camry didn’t rise to the level of an encumbered victory.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Consequently, Truex’s advancement to the Round of 12 stands. If penalties to either team are warranted, they will be announced later this week.\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Chicagoland Speedway<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Joliet, Illinois<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday, September 18, 2016<\/b><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1. (6) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 270.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2. (9) Joey Logano, Ford, 270.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3. (14) Chase Elliott #, Chevrolet, 270.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 4. (22) * Ryan Blaney #, Ford, 270.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 5. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 270.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 6. (3) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 270.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 7. (19) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 270.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 8. (1) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 270.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 9. (7) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 270.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 10. (17) Alex Bowman(i), Chevrolet, 270.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 11. (16) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 270.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 12. (8) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 270.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 13. (12) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 270.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 14. (15) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 270.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 15. (5) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 270.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 16. (11) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 270.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 17. (21) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 270.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 18. (10) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 269.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 19. (18) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 269.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 20. (4) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 269.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 21. (26) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 269.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 22. (28) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 269.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 23. (20) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 269.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 24. (25) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 269.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 25. (23) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ford, 268.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 26. (24) Greg Biffle, Ford, 268.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 27. (33) Ty Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 268.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 28. (13) Chris Buescher #, Ford, 268.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 29. (31) Landon Cassill, Ford, 267.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 30. (35) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 267.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 31. (34) Brian Scott #, Ford, 266.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 32. (27) Aric Almirola, Ford, 266.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 33. (37) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 265.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 34. (29) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 265.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 35. (32) David Ragan, Toyota, 265.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 36. (36) * Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 263.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 37. (30) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 262.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 38. (40) * Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 260.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 39. (39) * Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 257.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 40. (38) Joey Gase(i), Ford, 254.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:\u00a0 145.161 mph.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Time of Race:\u00a0 02 Hrs, 47 Mins, 24 Secs. Margin of Victory:\u00a0 0.776 Seconds.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Caution Flags:\u00a0 4 for 22 laps.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lead Changes:\u00a0 17 among 9 drivers.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:\u00a0\u00a0 Kyle Busch 1-21; M. Truex Jr 22-51; B. Keselowski 52; J. Johnson 53-102; B. Keselowski 103-105; J. Johnson 106-120; C. Elliott # 121; J. Johnson 122-170; B. Keselowski 171-173; J. Johnson 174-177; C. Elliott # 178-234; D. Hamlin 235-236; J. Logano 237; R. Blaney # 238-242; A. Bowman(i) 243-248; C. Elliott # 249-265; R. Blaney # 266-268; M. Truex Jr 269-270.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):\u00a0 J. Johnson 4 times for 118 laps; C. Elliott # 3 times for 75 laps; M. Truex Jr 2 times for 32 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 21 laps; R. Blaney # 2 times for 8 laps; B. Keselowski 3 times for 7 laps; A. Bowman(i) 1 time for 6 laps; D. Hamlin 1 time for 2 laps; J. Logano 1 time for 1 lap.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Top 16 in Points: M. Truex Jr – 2,050; B. Keselowski – 2,049; Kyle Busch – 2,046; D. Hamlin – 2,045; J. Logano – 2,043; C. Elliott # – 2,039; M. Kenseth – 2,038; J. Johnson – 2,037; C. Edwards – 2,032; Kurt Busch – 2,031; J. Mcmurray – 2,030; T. Stewart – 2,028; A. Dillon – 2,027; K. Harvick – 2,027; K. Larson – 2,026; C. Buescher # – 2,016.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service JOLIET, Ill. \u2013 You could see it coming from a mile-and-a-half away. On new tires, Martin Truex Jr. rocketed around the outside lane after a restart in overtime at Chicagoland Speedway and pulled away to win Sunday\u2019s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, the opening race in the Chase for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5578,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[244,16],"class_list":["post-5564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-martin-truex-jr","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/CLS_NSCS_VL_091816.jpg?fit=4725%2C3150&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-1rK","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5564"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5579,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5564\/revisions\/5579"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}