MARTINSVILLE, Va. – It isn’t over until the checkered flag flies, and Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway saw that adage play out in grand fashion.

In a classic short-track finish, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. traded blows on the final lap at the .526-mile paperclip, with Logano coming out on top in a door-slamming battle and punching his ticket to the Championship 4 by scoring a huge victory.

The thrills began with nine laps left, when Truex surged past Logano’s teammate Brad Keselowski to take the runner-up spot and stormed up to the back bumper of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford. Contact ensued as Truex worked lap after lap to try and get all the way to Logano’s inside and establish position.

Truex finally made it alongside Logano with five to go, nearly edging ahead but losing out as Logano used a stellar drive off the outside lane to maintain each time at the start/finish line, if only barely.

The action reached a boil in turns three and four with a lap and a half to go, with Truex laying the bumper to Logano, moving the Penske driver up the race track and taking the top spot underneath the white flag.

Logano wasn’t done, however. He filed in line behind Truex coming down the backstretch on the last lap and drove hard into turn three, giving Truex a return shot that sent the No. 78 Toyota up the race track in the final corner.

Truex tried to get the power down on the top side, but nearly spun down into Logano and lost momentum as he tried to gather his car up, allowing Logano to race past and grab the checkered flag.

After climbing from his car, Logano made it clear that winning and clinching his shot to race for the Cup Series title was his only focus on the last lap Sunday.

“Miami; (I was) just thinking about Miami (and) thinking about how we can win a championship with this car,” Logano said. “I knew it was going to be a fun race there to the end. Martin was definitely better. Our car wasn’t as good there that last run, and I was just doing all I can to be as defensive as I could.

“We were racing hard. He was getting into my left-rear (tire); we were both running hard, as you’d expect,” he continued. “You just have to expect it at Martinsville. It’s the end of the race; you’re going to have some bumping and grinding there at the end. I’m proud of this Shell/Pennzoil team, because this has been a tough season, but it’s great to get our second win of the year and the biggest win of the year.

“Now we’re off to looking at a championship.”

Just looking at the box score, Logano dominated the proceedings on Sunday, winning the second stage and leading a race-high 309 of 500 laps en route to his second victory of the season.

However, the last lap he led was the most memorable one, and Logano made it clear that he had a plan once Truex wrested the point away from him.

“I knew I was going to lay the bumper (to him),” Logano stated. “We raced really hard … and he wasn’t able to clear me there. Next thing you know, he’s around me and I knew my one shot was to try to lay the bumper a little bit in the last corner.

“That’s NASCAR racing. That’s what the grassroots are,” added Logano. “That’s what the fans come here to see. Some might not like it, but it makes for one heck of a race, at least.”

With his win, Logano earns his third trip to the Championship 4 in five years, after also reaching the title round in 2014 and 2016.

Crew chief Todd Gordon said after the race that Sunday’s gritty performance takes a load of pressure off his team as they prepare to chase their first Cup Series championship.

“This allows us to just not be quite so focused on Texas and what we would have to do there to win … and allows us to turn one eye towards Homestead,” said Gordon. “Now we can work on the preparation for what we have to have there, knowing we’re in a position that we can be at least broadly looking forward to that.

“It’s a big deal. We’re excited. On to Miami.”

Denny Hamlin charged past a slip-sliding Truex to steal the runner-up spot at the finish line, leaving Truex with a frustrating third-place result and extending his short-track losing streak to 78 races.

Truex didn’t mince words when asked for his thoughts on the final-lap skirmish.

“He may have won the battle, but he’s not winning the damn war,” Truex fumed. “I’m just not going to let him win it. I’m going to win it.”

Kyle Busch finished fourth ahead of Keselowski, who led 41 laps late in the race but faded to fifth after being overhauled by his teammate.

Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott, Ryan Newman, Daniel Suarez and Kevin Harvick completed the top 10.