Note: The quotes in this article are fictional. - 1. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex won Stage 1 at Loudon and finished fifth in the ISM Connect 300. "I barely made it through Kevin Harvick's smoky wreck," Truex said. "Normally, you don't see a smokescreen like that unless it's NASCAR throwing a bogus late caution flag to cause a restart and prevent a certain driver from winning by a large margin."
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) continued their playoffs run this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and the second race did not disappoint. Kyle Busch jumped out to the lead after a restart with 23 laps to go and was able to hold on to win his third MENCS race of 2017 and his first ever playoff win.
This weekend the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the second playoff race in the Round of 16. Martin Truex Jr. secured his spot in the next round with his win at Chicagoland while Kurt Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman are below the cutoff for transfer into the Round of 12.
Everyone is super excited about going to Loudon, New Hampshire for the big event on Sunday. Okay, Alan Gustafson is not. Is not going, that is. Chase Elliott was second in Chicago, leaving him sixth in points. That was then. Now, he is eighth in points. If your car fails post-race inspection, sometimes they take away 15 points, along with your crew chief for a week.
So it begins. Chicago, where the Chase began. Chicago, where winning was a big thing, but not the only thing. Win and you advance. Drop out or too near the rear of the pack and all you have is New Hampshire and Charlotte to get it right, to fix the problem, to save your season. Three races, 16 drivers, and just a dozen spots available in order to continue the quest.
1. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex started third at Chicagoland as Toyota's took the top three qualifying spot. Despite an early pit road speeding penalty, Truex recovered and took the win, securing his spot in the second round of the Chase For The Cup.
Win and automatically advance to the next round. There are four rounds, each consisting of three races. Four drivers will be eliminated at the end of each round leaving four contenders to battle for the championship crown at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.
Change can be a good thing. Sometimes it is, but other times it is a simple reminder that we are getting older and, like disco, what was popular yesterday might not be tomorrow.
1. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex won Stage 2 at Richmond was on his way to his fifth win of the year before a late caution flipped his fate. Kyle Larson beat Truex out of the pits and pulled away on the restart, while Truex tangled with Denny Hamlin and crashed. Truex finished 20th.
For a race that has been around since 1958, it is a damn shame that it does not carry the proper branding to link it over the decades to the time it was claimed by the likes of Speedy Thompson, Cotton Owens, and Joe Weatherly. Let us properly honor it and refer to this Saturday night’s contest in Richmond, Virginia as the Federated Auto Parts Capital City 400.
