Search
Close this search box.

Partner

Martin Truex Jr. Wins Stage 1 at Martinsville, Chase Elliott up to Eighth

share it
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 19 Auto Owners Insurance Toyota Camry (Photo Credit: Jonathan McCoy / RubbingsRacing.com)

Martin Truex Jr. took the lead in Stage 1 during a yellow flag pit stop with 99 laps to go. His teammate Denny Hamlin, who had led the opening 31 laps from the pole, but suffered a slow stop and dropped to fifth.

Truex never looked back as he lapped up to 17th-place in the field during Stage 1. Truex took the Stage win.

Hamlin rebounded to finish second in the Stage.

Ryan Blaney, who came into this race in the bottom two of the Playoff grid, finished the Stage in third and could be an upset candidate to move to Homestead if he stays in position throughout the next 400 laps.

Clint Bowyer finished fourth in Stage 1, while Joey Logano — who won this race last year after roughing up Truex — finished fifth.

William Byron and Aric Almirola finished sixth and seventh.

Meanwhile, Chase Elliott knifed through the field to finish eighth. Elliott, of course, started at the rear after blowing an engine in the opening practice session of the weekend.

Elliott has the attention of the rest of the drivers in the field as he was able to keep his car clean and stay on the lead lap while cutting inside the top-10 over the first 130 laps.

Kyle Busch and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top-10 in Stage 1.

Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson were the two Playoff contenders who finished outside the top-10, but for Larson, he wasn’t able to stay on the lead lap.

Larson, who is racing with a fractured rib, ended the Stage 17th, one lap off the pace. Luckily, Larson was able to hold up Truex just long enough while going down a lap to ensure that he was the first car a lap down.

Larson, as a result, will take the free pass at the start of Stage 2.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Post

Hertz joins LEGACY MOTOR CLUB as a primary sponsor for John Hunter Nemechek at Dover Motor Speedway
Hertz to Sponsor John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 LMC Team at Dover
Ryan Truex to compete in NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Dover Motor Speedway in No. 24 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota
Ryan Truex Joins Sam Hunt Racing for Dover NASCAR Xfinity Series Event
Tyler Tomassi to pilot No. 69 truck for MBM Motorsports in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Talladega.
Tyler Tomassi Set For Return to MBM No. 69 Truck at Talladega
NCS_SONOMA_EL
Entry List: 2025 NCS Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway
NXS_SONOMA_EL
Entry List: 2025 NXS Pit Boss / FoodMaxx 250 at Sonoma Raceway
JM_Xfin_BRI_Race_VanAlst
Greg Van Alst Motorsports Forms Part-Time Truck Team; Debuting at IRP

Join Our Newsletter

Ready to have NASCAR news hand-delivered to your email daily?

Related Article