BRISTOL, Tenn. — Martin Truex Jr. derailed the early dominance of Kyle Larson and collected his fifth stage win of the season during Stage 2 of Monday’s rain-postponed Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Though Larson came off the break strong, Truex bided his time and waited until the handling on Larson’s car faded during the second half of the run, passing Larson on lap 203 to take the lead for the first time.
Truex then weathered two caution flags in the final 50 laps of the stage to lead Joey Logano across the line and set himself up for a potential first Bristol victory later in the day.
“I think it’s a little bit of our car getting better and the track changing,” Truex said when asked what led to his dominance late in the second stint.
“We’ve made some small adjustments and the track has shifted a little bit. Our car is really good on the bottom right now, so we’ll just see what happens. The guys have done a good job so far this weekend and we’ll see what we can do from here on out. It’s been a lot of fun so far.”
Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson finished third in the stage, just edging out Kevin Harvick’s Ford and Jamie McMurray’s Chevrolet.
Erik Jones was sixth ahead of Larson, who led the first 202 laps in succession and won Stage 1 as a result. Monday marked the first time since 1973 (Cale Yarborough) that one driver led 200 or more laps to start a Cup race at Bristol.
Denny Hamlin and the Roush Fenway Racing teammates of Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. completed the top 10 and the points-scoring drivers.
Kyle Busch popped a right front tire entering turn one on lap 209, with a melted bead sending Busch into the wall and drawing the second caution for contact on the day.
On the ensuing restart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. found the turn one wall after something in the motor leaked fluid onto his front tires and took the grip away from the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet.
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 22-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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