BROOKLYN, Mich. — Martin Truex Jr. just continues to fill his playoff point bank in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

Truex notched his ninth stage win this season during the opening stint of Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan Int’l Speedway, passing polesitter Kyle Larson down the backstretch on lap 35 and going on to a 3.278-second margin when the green-checkered flag waved over the field.

“Our blue Toyota has been pretty sporty so far,” Truex said following pit stops. “We’ll just keep after it, because it’s a long race and a lot can happen, but we have pretty good speed when we get out in clean air, obviously. Traffic has been difficult, as usual, but we’ll deal with that the best we can and hopefully keep this thing up front all day.”

Only two cautions slowed the early pace, coming on lap seven for debris and on lap 25, when a competition yellow was called after early morning rains washed some of the rubber off the race track.

After leading the first 34 laps, Larson hung on for a close second over Kyle Busch, followed by Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth.

Clint Bowyer, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson completed the top 10 and finished in the points at the first stage break, with Johnson’s rally coming from the back of the field after he was forced to a backup car due to a Saturday morning practice crash.

About the Writer

Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.

Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.

The 23-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.

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