Finally, after sitting 15th halfway through the race and seventh with 100 miles remaining in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400, the breaks began to fall Truex’s way.
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Truex’s vehicle failed post-race inspection after he took the checkered flag in Sunday’s Chase-opening Sprint Cup Series race at Chicago.
Johnson’s auto also failed a post-race inspection, likely costing him some valuable points for the Chase standings. Most importantly, Elliott was upbeat after failing to win. But, right now, I feel like we’re obviously one of the top teams with Joe Gibbs Racing, and our affiliation with Toyota – we have great race cars, great engines. Teams can go all year without something freakish happening, and then suddenly the full moon of the Chase creates odd moments.
He restarted fourth, the first driver with fresh tires, and ran away from Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and others over the race’s final two laps.
“That decision (to stay out) wasn’t hard at all”, Blaney said. Trailing leader Elliott coming into the pits, Truex came out ahead of Elliott. “I wish a couple more cars stayed out”. “I enjoyed every moment of it and it just gave me passion and drive to want to get back”. Logano followed him through for second.
“I got the email and I hit “delete” because it didn’t pertain to anything with driving the auto”, Harvick said. “You’re not dumb. We’ve all watched this stuff long enough to know these races don’t go green that long”. We see more cautions come out at the end of these races than we do not.
“Very, very proud of the effort, just so bummed”, Johnson said after using three expletives in frustration. And, I think there’s some tracks that suit guys better. I don’t think we were going to pass him unless he got loose or made a mistake.
It was a moot point, though: Power had mechanical issues 38 laps into the race that sealed the outcome. And perhaps because Johnson has won six of the last 10 high-speed playoffs in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. After starting sixth, he vaulted to the lead on Lap 22 of 270 and held that position for 30 consecutive circuits.
Harvick, like Johnson, also was on pit road when the yellow flag waved, but instead of completing his service on pit road, his team only changed two on the initial stop and brought him back down pit road to change the other two under the yellow.
Harvick then spent the rest of the race frantically trying to make his lap up.
Truex took the high side and roared past both Kahne and Blaney to take the lead.
The caution shuffled up the running order as some cars that had elected to come to pit road early were trapped a lap down.
That was just the first 125 laps.
Camrys also have run out front for more than half of the laps.
Elliott led for 75 laps in what was a clean race with only three cautions until McDowell’s late wreck changed the dynamic of the race. It’s Kyle Busch uncharacteristically speeding on pit road to spoil a top five (although he still finished eighth). Thanks to the weather, defending NASCAR champion Kyle Busch gets to start on the pole Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway. That after Hendrick and Chevrolet had a subpar regular season.
“There’s been years, a few years, where I should have won multiple races, but I’ve never been in a position where I feel like we can go anywhere and win”. He also is the most recent victor in the series, winning September 10 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
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Kevin Harvick was the talk of the garage in the opening stages of the event, rising from the back of the field to the top 10 in just 20 laps after his No. 4 team was penalized for unapproved adjustments.
