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Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series “Tales of the Turtles 400”

Martin Truex, Jr. wins Playoffs opener at Chicagoland Speedway

Martin Truex, Jr. rolled through the regular season with four wins and an eye-popping 53 bonus points. He opened the playoffs in much the same fashion Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway, leading the final 55 laps and beating runner-up Chase Elliott to the checkered flag by more than seven seconds in the Tales of the Turtles 400.

It’s Truex’s 2nd straight victory on the mile-and-a-half Joliet, Illinois, oval. He’s the first Cup Series driver with back-to-back wins there since Kevin Harvick doubled up in 2001 and 2002. And speaking of Harvick, he finished 3rd yesterday after leading the race four times for 59 laps. Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson completed the top five.

7-time champion Jimmie Johnson opened defense of his 2016 crown with an 8th place finish on his 42nd birthday.

Kyle Busch started from the pole, won the first stage and led a race-high 85 laps. But he was penalized early in the second stage for crew members going over the wall too soon on a pit stop, leading to a 15th place finish for the #3 seed. The miscue was noteworthy since Busch’s #18 Joe Gibbs Racing team had swapped pit crews with Daniel Suarez following the conclusion of the regular season. With Busch’s former crew in his pits on Sunday, Suarez drove to a 12th place finish.

Truex and his #78 Furniture Row Racing team have won five races this season. Four of the victories have come on mile-and-a-half ovals including Las Vegas, Kentucky and Kansas Speedway. Four of the remaining nine races of the post-season will be run on those intermediate-sized ovals.

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– story by John Singler
www.mrn.com
Concord, North Carolina

 

Top 5 Drivers in the NASCAR Playoffs

1. Martin Truex, Jr.
2. Kyle Larson
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Brad Keselowski – 2 Wins
5. Kyle Busch

For the complete driver standings in the Playoffs, please visit the official page on nascar.com.

 

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