JOLIET, IL -- Martin Truex Jr. won the race off pit road on the final green-flag pit stop of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, sparking him to the win at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday.
The speedy stop propelled Truex past rookieChase Elliott, who had led 75 laps until the caution came out on Lap 265 of the 270-lap overtime race. The race was the first of 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Joey Logano came up second in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.
Elliott in the No. 24 Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet, Ryan Blaney in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford and Brad Keselowski in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford rounded out the top five.
Denny Hamlin, the defending race winner, finished sixth.
Kyle Busch, the reigning series champ, finished eighth.
Chase drivers Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larsonwere saddled with obstacles to overcome before the race even started when both were sent to the rear for modifications to their cars after qualifying. Harvick had qualified fourth, while Larson was to start 10th.
Harvick quickly worked his way into the top 10, but went a lap down when he came in for a green-flag pit stop when a caution came out. He fought to return to the lead lap for much of the rest of the race; he finished 20th.
The 270-lap race tied the track-low with four cautions and featured nine different leaders.Jimmie Johnson led all drivers with 118 laps led. Johnson was slapped with a penalty for speeding on pit road late in the race, that pushed him back to a 12th-place finish.
The Sprint Cup Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway next weekend for the continuation of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in the New England 300 (Sept. 25, 2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
No comments:
Post a Comment