It looked like Martin Truex Jr. was going to be robbed of a certain win when the caution came out with less than five laps remaining at Kentucky Speedway, but the 37-year-old hung strong until the checkered flag flew.
Truex stormed away from the field on a restart in overtime to cap off a truly dominant performance in Saturday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400. The driver of the No. 78 Toyota Camry swept the 400-mile race with a win in all three stages.
Had it not been for the late-race caution, Truex would have drove off into the sunset, as he had a lead upward of 16 seconds. Once the caution came out, he made the decision not to pit, and the gamble ultimately paid off.
"I thought we were done." @MartinTruex_Jr held off the rest of the field on old tires to win the #QS400 at @KYSpeedway! pic.twitter.com/bo6OVrbtJP
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 9, 2017
Despite being on old rubber, Truex surged to the lead on the restart, leaving Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott to duke it out for second and third.
Larson ultimately came out in front of Elliott, and that’s remarkable given that he started from the back of the field. Behind Elliott, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson finished fourth and fifth, respectively, to round out the top five.
Thumbnail photo via Christopher Hanewinckel/USA TODAY Sports Images
