Martin Truex, Jr. Wins First Race of the Chase, but Car Fails Post-Race Inspection

Getty Images

JOLIET, IL – RIS – Martin Truex, Jr. passed leader Ryan Blaney heading into the first turn of overtime to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup TMNT 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, the first race of the 2016 Chase, but his No. 78 Toyota failed post-race inspection.  A caution caused by Michael McDowell’s blown tire, brought out the caution flag  and brought the race down to the green-white-checkers finish.  Truex went on to win the TMNT 400  NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway. 

Any penalties would be announced Tuesday or Wednesday. Jimmie Johnson’s car also failed post-race inspection. He finished 12th after a late-race pit road speeding penalty. But since both finishes aren’t “encumbered,” Truex will get to keep his spot in the next round of the Chase. Johnson might fall below the safe line, depending on the penalty NASCAR announces.

After a day when Hendrick Motorsports cars dominated the day (Johnson lead 160 laps and Elliott was headed for a win before the caution period), it all came down to a final pit stop.

Elliott and Truex came in to pit, with non-Chase drivers Ryan Blaney and Kasey Kahne and Chase contender Carl Edwards staying on the track.  That left Blaney in the lead with Kahne second.

Truex restarted fourth and quickly got to the front and pulled away from Joey Logano on the final lap for his third victory of the season. The victory gave Truex a spot in the second round of the Chase when the field is cut from 16 to 12 in two weeks.

 Elliott, a rookie, was third, followed by Blaney and Chase driver Brad Keselowski.

It was an impressive comeback for Truex, who led early in the race only to have his tire completely unravel. It led to an unscheduled stop that left him down a lap in the 400-mile race.

He outraced Kevin Harvick, who also got into early trouble, to be in position for the free pass to the lead lap on the next caution.

With qualifying canceled Friday because of rain, Chase top seed Kyle Buch started from the pole.  Harvick should have been on the second row but was sent to the back of the field for what NASCAR called unapproved adjustments.

While Busch stayed out front for 21 laps, Harvick jumped to 10th in 20 laps in one of the best early charges of the season on the circuit. By the 30th lap, he was eighth.

 But with drivers in their first green-flag stops, Aric Almirola's team lost a tire. It rolled across pit road and drew a caution, leaving Harvick a lap down while Jimmie Johnson barely reached the start-finish line to stay on the lead lap.

Johnson dominated the middle of the race, leading 118 laps, until Elliott got by him on lap 176 of 267. Johnson was running second when he was caught speeding on pit road during the last green-flag stop, yelling "no way!" on his radio when told he had to serve a pass-through penalty. Johnson finished 12th.

Elliott led for 75 laps in what was a clean race with only three cautions until McDowell's late wreck changed the dynamic of the race.

 The rest of the Chase drivers had mixed days. Denny Hamlin was sixth, Busch eighth and Matt Kenseth ninth. Jamie McMurray finished 11th, Kurt Busch 13th, Austin Dillon 14th and Edwards 15th.

 Tony Stewart was 16th, while Harvick faced multiple problems while finishing 20th.

Rookie Chris Buescher had the worst day of the title contenders, finishing 28th and two laps down.

Depending on what penalties NASCAR assesses, the Chase field will look entirely different before the next race on September 25th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Status Tms Laps
1 6 78 Martin Truex Jr Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota 270 44 4 126.3 Running 2 32
2 9 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 270 40 1 111.1 Running 1 1
3 14 24 Chase Elliott # NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 270 39 1 129.1 Running 3 75
4 22 21 * Ryan Blaney # Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 270 38 1 91.9 Running 2 8
5 2 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 270 37 1 116.7 Running 3 7
6 3 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 270 36 1 108.7 Running 1 2
7 19 5 Kasey Kahne Liftmaster Chevrolet 270 34 96.2 Running
8 1 18 Kyle Busch Skittles Toyota 270 34 1 105.3 Running 1 21
9 7 20 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Flexvolt Toyota 270 32 91.1 Running
10 17 88 Alex Bowman(i) Axalta Chevrolet 270 0 91.8 Running 1 6
11 16 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald's Chevrolet 270 30 87.2 Running
12 8 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet 270 31 2 121.3 Running 4 118
13 12 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 270 28 79.3 Running
14 15 3 Austin Dillon Dow - Packaging Chevrolet 270 27 81.2 Running
15 5 19 Carl Edwards Stanley Toyota 270 26 82.7 Running
16 11 14 Tony Stewart Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet 270 25 71.5 Running
17 21 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger/DiGiorno/Hot Pockets Chevrolet 270 24 68.7 Running
18 10 42 Kyle Larson Coke Chevrolet 269 23 83.9 Running
19 18 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet 269 22 72.6 Running
20 4 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John's Chevrolet 269 21 76.9 Running
21 26 27 Paul Menard Moen/Menards Chevrolet 269 20 61.6 Running
22 28 15 Clint Bowyer PEAK Chevrolet 269 19 61.2 Running
23 20 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 269 18 62.3 Running
24 25 10 Danica Patrick Nature's Bakery/TMNT Chevrolet 269 17 58.5 Running
25 23 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr Fastenal Ford 268 16 52.0 Running
26 24 16 Greg Biffle Performance Plus Motor Oil Ford 268 15 52.2 Running
27 33 7 Ty Dillon(i) Nikko RC Chevrolet 268 0 47.3 Running
28 13 34 Chris Buescher # Love's Travel Stops Ford 268 13 56.3 Running
29 31 38 Landon Cassill Children's Hospital of Chicago Ford 267 12 43.6 Running
30 35 83 Matt DiBenedetto Mass Markets Toyota 267 11 41.2 Running
31 34 44 Brian Scott # Jewel Osco/Shore Lodge Ford 266 10 44.7 Running
32 27 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 266 9 40.7 Running
33 37 46 Michael Annett Pilot Flying J Chevrolet 265 8 34.2 Running
34 29 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 265 7 45.6 Running
35 32 23 David Ragan Jewel Osco Toyota 265 6 36.7 Running
36 36 98 * Cole Whitt Moen Chevrolet 263 5 29.8 Running
37 30 95 Michael McDowell Thrivent Financial/Donatello Chevrolet 262 4 31.6 Running
38 40 30 * Josh Wise IncredibleBank Chevrolet 260 3 27.3 Running
39 39 55 * Reed Sorenson Vic's Express Car Wash/Vydox Plus Chevrolet 257 2 25.3 Running
40 38 32 Joey Gase(i) JTConcrete/Carolina Cooker Ford 254 0 23.2 Running