NASCAR
Martin Truex Jr. Takes Third Win of 2023 at New Hampshire
LOUDON, N.H. – Coming into this weekend, Martin Truex Jr. had won at all of his home tracks except one. The Magic Mile in Loudon, New Hampshire proved very kind to Truex’s No. 19 Toyota. MTJ led an astounding 254 of 301 laps in the Monday rainout race, picking up a third win for 2023 and checking off an empty box. In his 30th Loudon start, Truex holds the lobster trophy high at last. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver appears in full championship form, now with a hat trick of 2023 victories.
Taking command on lap two, Truex hardly ever relinquished the lead across both Stages. The 19 won Stage 1 by over three seconds and took Stage 2 by four seconds, flexing his muscles early.
On a late Stage 2 restart where Truex was set back, the leader would spin in turn two. By virtue of getting him out as quickly as possible, Aric Almirola’s pit crew left a tire loose on the No. 10 Ford. Almirola’s miracle New Hampshire win from two years ago would not be repeated. Instead the 10 found the outside wall and would DNF in 34th.
Truex’s march to victory lane would be slowed by three cautions in the last 30 laps. Even with three prime chances, nobody could capitalize and beat the 19. Joey Logano would trail MTJ by three tenths to the checkered flag.
“What we’ve been able to do here over the years is pretty remarkable, and to not win was really getting frustrating,” Truex said. “James (Small, crew chief) and I talked about it many times. We thought about it all weekend, talked about it with Christopher (Bell) before the race. He’s like, man, you’ve led more laps here than I’ve even raced in Cup.”
“Just really an awesome job by everybody. What a race car we had today. Just proud of the whole team. Pit stops were flawless. Race car was unbelievable.”
“We had some challenges at times throughout the race and it was a handful at times, but we just kept our heads down, kept digging. Thanks to everybody at racers, Bass Pro, Auto Owners, Toyota TRD, everybody back at the shop, JGR, all our fans, Oakley, FlightSafety, just all the people that help us.
This is feeling really, really good to do what we did today and finally cap it off with a lobster.”
The max-points day from the win and Stage sweep is enough for Truex to reclaim the points lead. The 19 leads the regular season championship by 17 points over William Byron.
Behind Truex and Logano, the New Hampshire top-10 were: Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Austin Dillon and Chase Briscoe.
Six races remain in the 2023 Cup Series regular season. Take a look at the current Playoff standings below, with five spots still open on points. One single point currently separates the last spot in from the first man out of the 16-man title fight.
The NASCAR Cup Series will return to action next week from Pocono Raceway. The High Point 400 will go green Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. The Tricky Triangle is the next stop on the road to the Playoffs. Many drivers are still searching for a season-defining win, hoping to capitalize big in the Keystone State.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Johnathan Bachman/Getty Images for NASCAR
