NASCAR
1st 1.5 Mile Track Win of 2018 Leads to Max Points For Martin Truex Jr at Kentucky
For the 2nd straight season, Martin Truex Jr. and the 78 car were unbeatable at Kentucky Speedway. Much like a season ago, Truex’s win came in dominating fashion, as he won both stages and the race. This result led to a max points night for the team trying to contend for a 2nd straight championship.
Prerace Favorites Mirror Title Favorites with the Big 3
Going into Kentucky, many people were willing to predict a dominating win for either Kevin Harvick or Kyle Busch. This duo of drivers has 10 wins so far in 2018, including all 6 prior races on 1.5 mile tracks. a co-favorite among them was Truex, as he won 7 races on 1.5 mile track a season ago, including Kentucky. Knocking the ‘Big 3’ drivers off the mountain was sure to be a herculean task, as they all started the race in the top 10.
Much like half of the previous races in 2018, the first stage at Kentucky was run without any cautions. Truex, who started from the pole, would dominate this stage. The 78 only lost the lead during a cycle of green flag pit stops.
From the start, Brad Keselowski in the 2 was racing hard against the 78. However, a pit road speeding penalty on lap 38 would send the 2 car back in the pack.
One bit of late breaking news prior to the green flag concerned Kyle Larson. The driver of the 42 missed driver introductions, and was forced to start the race from the rear. To nobody’s surprise though, the 42 made up ground quickly, as he was running 8th by the end of Stage 1.
Pit Strategy Shakes Up Running Order
Kentucky Speedway was repaved only 2 years ago. One result of the repave is that tire falloff at this track is not very significant. As a result of this, many teams would take 2 tires in order to leapfrog the 78 on pit stops. This would be a short-term gain for some, but the 78 was fast enough to eventually retake the lead. Both Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch would briefly lead under this strategy.
A Repeat of Kentucky Domination for the 78
A season ago at Kentucky, Martin Truex Jr. and the 78 team won both stages, led 152 laps, and won the race. 2018 was much of the same, as the 78 would again win both stages, lead a race-high 174 circuits, and win by almost 2 seconds. With his dominating run, Truex leavevs Kentucky with 60 points, which is a max points night for team 78. This is Truex’s 4th win of 2018, 2nd at Kentucky, and the first time Busch or Harvick have not won at a 1.5 mile track since 2017. The other 2 of the ‘Big 3’ were not far behind Truex however, as Busch and Harvick finished 4th and 5th respectively.
In a bit of an odd moment, the front stretch grass sprinklers came on at Kentucky with 50 laps remaining. Though certainly a weird occurrence, this would not bring out a caution flag, or impede the race.
Behind Truex, the top 10 at Kentucky were drivers who look to build up consistency before the Playoffs. Ryan Blaney was 2nd in his best finish of 2018. Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Harvick, Kurt Busch, Erik Jones, Aric Almirola, Kyle Larson, and Joey Logano rounded out the top 10 from Kentucky.
Playoff Points Battle Narrows at Kentucky
Lap 111 saw one of the night’s few on-track incidents, as Alex Bowman blew a tire and hit the wall. This is a major blow for the 88 team, who are currently 16th in the Playoff points. Before Kentucky, they had a 19 point gap ahead of 17th-place. However, they now have just 9 points that separate them from the cut line.
Paul Menard, who is trying to point his way into the Playoffs, had a quiet but consistent night. By finishing 11th at Kentucky, Menard made up 32 points on Bowman. Menard now finds himself just 23 points behind the cut line, at 18th on the Playoff grid. Heading into the closing races of the regular season, the fight for 16th in points is likely going to become even tighter.
2018 has been defined so far in NASCAR by the ‘Big 3’ drivers Busch, Harvick, and Truex. Between the 3 of them, max points have been achieved in 5 races so far in 2018. This amazing stat includes Truex’s dominating run at Kentucky. Only 7 races remain until the Playoffs begin, and 9 spots remain for drivers to win their way into the postseason.
How to Watch the Next Race
The 20th race of 2018 for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Coverage will be next Sunday, July 22, at 2 PM EST on NBCSN, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. In what is now their only race on the schedule, Loudon’s Magic Mile is sure to be a drama-filled race.
