Martin Truex Jr. rallies to win NASCAR Chase opener

Sep 20, 2016, 05:16

Got back and we.

Rookie Chase Elliott appeared on his way to an easy win until Michael McDowell blew a tire and spun out, prompting a caution with five laps left. That allowed him to line up fourth behind Dave Blaney, Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards - all of whom stayed out on old tires.

"That decision (to stay out) wasn't hard at all", Blaney said. So much is out of their control, and when a team prepares all season for the playoff run only to have it go sour - well, they're not happy. He's got you ready for you embrace it when it happens it. Logano followed him through for second. And that's what makes 2016 different for Truex and his Furniture Row Racing team.

THREE FINGERS: Others making Chase debuts include Kyle Larson, who had the fastest vehicle in Saturday's practice, and Austin Dillon, who has the iconic No. 3 Chevrolet in the playoffs for the first time. Truex overcame an unscheduled pit stop for a tire issue to move into second with a pass on Johnson with 33 laps to go. Elliott leaves Chicago sixth overall in the standings at 11 points behind leader Truex Jr.

Kenseth's victories this season came in May at his favorite track, in Dover, Del., and in July in Loudon, N.H., where he has won three of the past seven races.

Paul Gohde heard the sound of race cars early in his life.Growing up in suburban Milwaukee, just north of Wisconsin State Fair Park in the 1950's, Paul had no idea what "that noise" was all about that he heard several times a year. It's Kyle Busch uncharacteristically speeding on pit road to spoil a top five (although he still finished eighth). To the credit of those that picked him, Larson looked every bit deserving of the praise for 350 of Sunday's 400 miles, running inside of the top 10 and contending for a top 5 through the closing stages. Harvick wound up going a lap down.

Also, by leading 32 laps, Truex took over as the season's lap leader at 1266. An early stop in the pits because of a delaminating right front tire. Eventually got back on the lead lap.

"That was the right idea, the right call, because everybody took tires except three guys and they were sitting ducks", Truex said. The New Jersey native methodically worked his way toward the front, entering the top 20 by lap 120, rising into the top 10 shortly before lap 170, and climbing into the top 5 after lap 210. The six-time Cup Series champion led the race for 118 laps - many of them in dominant fashion. He'll also start Sunday's race from the pole after Friday's qualifying was washed out.

Of the 16 drivers to qualify for the season-ending Chase, half are from teams outside the behemoth organizations of Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske. But remember this: Kevin Harvick finished 42 in this race a year ago and still advanced to the final round of the Chase. He also is the most recent victor in the series, winning September 10 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

The outsiders: All the usual suspects will be contenders in this thing as it winds down and drivers are eliminated, but each of the last two seasons, the final four has included at least one driver who sneaked in with a win or, in the case of Ryan Newman in 2014, showed enough consistency to get in on points.

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