Truex Jr Scores First Martinsville Win, Advances to Championship Four
The 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs got off to a fast start for Martin Truex Jr. Winning the first two races in the Round of 16, the 2017 series champion has stayed consistent, quietly finishing inside the top ten in every playoff race but Talladega.
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| Truex Jr and girlfriend Sherry Pollex pose with their new grandfather clock in victory lane (Google Images) |
“I don’t think anyone expected that,” said Truex of his team's dominating performance. “This race track, in general, you don’t see that. Hats off to my guys. Pit crew was stellar today, and we didn’t make many adjustments. We adjusted on early and it came to life, and that was a lot of fun.
“I don’t know, maybe now I’ve got this place figured out. Who knows? But just really proud of everybody, and after last year, we talked earlier, everybody wants to keep talking about last year, and I’m like, ‘We’ve got work to do.’ I’m just proud of everybody for giving me a race car like that and being able to put it all together today when it counted.”
While Truex was busy putting on a clinic, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates had trouble keeping their tempers in check. Kyle Buscch got into a shoving match with Aric Almirola that resulted in both drivers spinning and Almirola getting tagged in the driver's side door by Jimmie Johnson. Busch would rebound to finish 14th, Almirola vowed to make the last three races "hell" for the 2015 series champion.
Following the race, JGR's Denny Hamlin got into it with Joey Logano on pit road after the two made contact on the track. Hamlin slid into Logano's No. 22 with around 40 laps to go, causing the 2018 champ to spin and taking away any chance they had to win. After a heated discussion, Logano shoved Hamlin's shoulder and turned to walk away. After giving chase, Hamlin was restrained by several members of Logano's team, one of whom executed a horsecollar tackle, dropping Hamlin to the pavement. That crew member, Tire Technician Dave "Mule" Nichols, Jr. has been since been suspended for one week by the sanctioning body.
Tensions overflowing at @MartinsvilleSwy! @joeylogano and @dennyhamlin get into an altercation on pit road! #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/bBIBuS0A7W— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 27, 2019
“We were having a discussion,” Hamlin said. “Everything was civil, and then, like Joey does, he does a little push and then runs away. So that’s Joey. Scared. He said, ‘Do you want to go?’ I said, ‘Yes, I’m here.’ But then he runs away.”
“I just wanted to see what his thoughts were, and it wasn’t quite the answer I was looking for,” said Logano.
Sophomore driver William Byron also had a strong showing, giving Truex fits in the final run to the checkered flag and coming home second.
“This isn’t a place that I’ve loved coming to, and it just clicked this weekend, the things we did with the car going into qualifying and then obviously our race. Super excited, but second is not super fun, either. We’ll try to get one spot better next time,” said Byron.
Brad Keselowski, who won the spring Martinsville event, came home in third, Hamlin finished in fourth, and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top five. Kurt Busch finished sixth, Kevin Harvick came home seventh, Logano finished in eighth, Kyle Larson crossed the line ninth, and Ryan Newman was tenth.
The NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series heads west to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for the AAA Texas 500. The race is set to go green at 3:00 pm ET on Sunday, November 3, with NBC, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio covering all the action.
Todd Gilliland Edges Chastain for First Truck Series Win
After 46 races for Kyle Busch Motorsports, ever-growing expectations, and being called out in the media by his team owner, Todd Gilliland scored his first Gander Outdoor Truck Series victory in the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 at Martinsville Speedway.
Both Gilliland and teammate Harrison Burton have faced intense pressure this season for missing the playoff field and not winning in KBM equipment that Kyle Busch took to victory lane five times this year and that veteran Greg Biffle won in after an almost 20 year absence from the truck series.
After the 11th caution, Gilliland drove underneath title contender Ross Chastain, with Gilliland’s No. 4 Toyota clearing Chastain’s No. 45 Chevrolet for the top spot. Gilliland led the final 11 laps, surviving the race's final caution and an overtime that took the race one circuit past its scheduled distance of 200 laps.
“I wish we had won two years ago, just like everyone else thought we would,” Gilliland said. “I thought we would, too. We went through some growing pains. Marcus Richmond was my crew chief, and we got rid of him, and then he came back and was helping us again. He’s really great here at Martinsville.
“I’m just so proud of these guys. Man, this is a long time coming. Hopefully, this will get some momentum rolling and open up some doors for next year.”
Gilliland, who revealed he doesn't have any plans in place for 2020 admittedly let his emotions get the better of him following the checkered flag when he keyed his radio, thanked his crew, and told Busch he "could stay in his f**king motorhome."
In spite of coming up one lap short of the victory, Chastain led 68 laps and came home second, gaining some serious points in a race that was hard on most of the other playoff drivers like Tyler Ankrum, Austin Hill, and Stage One winner Brett Moffitt.
Johnny Sauter came home third, Grant Enfinger came home fourth, and Timmy Hill rounded out the top five. Stewart Friesen recovered from a lap 150 spin to finish in sixth, John Hunter Nemechek came home seventh, Whelen Modified winner and native of Freehold, N.J. Danny Bohn finished eighth in his truck series debut, Jeb Burton finished ninth, and Codie Rohrbaugh rounded out the top ten finishers.
The Gander Outdoors Truck Series will take this weekend off, returning to action on Friday, November 8 at ISM Raceway in Phoenix for the Lucas Oil 150. The race will go green at 8:30 pm ET with FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio covering the event.
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| Gilliland scored his first truck series win in 46 starts (Google Images) |
After the 11th caution, Gilliland drove underneath title contender Ross Chastain, with Gilliland’s No. 4 Toyota clearing Chastain’s No. 45 Chevrolet for the top spot. Gilliland led the final 11 laps, surviving the race's final caution and an overtime that took the race one circuit past its scheduled distance of 200 laps.
“I wish we had won two years ago, just like everyone else thought we would,” Gilliland said. “I thought we would, too. We went through some growing pains. Marcus Richmond was my crew chief, and we got rid of him, and then he came back and was helping us again. He’s really great here at Martinsville.
“I’m just so proud of these guys. Man, this is a long time coming. Hopefully, this will get some momentum rolling and open up some doors for next year.”
Gilliland, who revealed he doesn't have any plans in place for 2020 admittedly let his emotions get the better of him following the checkered flag when he keyed his radio, thanked his crew, and told Busch he "could stay in his f**king motorhome."
In spite of coming up one lap short of the victory, Chastain led 68 laps and came home second, gaining some serious points in a race that was hard on most of the other playoff drivers like Tyler Ankrum, Austin Hill, and Stage One winner Brett Moffitt.
Johnny Sauter came home third, Grant Enfinger came home fourth, and Timmy Hill rounded out the top five. Stewart Friesen recovered from a lap 150 spin to finish in sixth, John Hunter Nemechek came home seventh, Whelen Modified winner and native of Freehold, N.J. Danny Bohn finished eighth in his truck series debut, Jeb Burton finished ninth, and Codie Rohrbaugh rounded out the top ten finishers.
The Gander Outdoors Truck Series will take this weekend off, returning to action on Friday, November 8 at ISM Raceway in Phoenix for the Lucas Oil 150. The race will go green at 8:30 pm ET with FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio covering the event.
