Martin Truex Jr. dominates another Monday and the NASCAR Cup Series playoff battle swings again in New Hampshire
Rain followed the NASCAR Cup Series to New England and disrupted a race weekend for the fourth consecutive week. This time, it created a perfect scenario for a signature Martin Truex Jr. victory.
Truex Jr. checked his usual boxes of dominating the competition and winning a Monday race. A personal box was checked as well by winning a NASCAR Cup Series race at his childhood track.
Like many race fans in the Northeast, the first time Truex Jr. saw a Cup car in person came at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. As kids, Martin and his brother Ryan watched their dad race at The Magic Mile growing up.
The track holds special meaning to the Truex family and winning there after years of coming close was a major accomplishment for Martin Truex Jr.
The first New Hampshire win for Martin Truex Jr. came in his classic dominant fashion. He lead 254 of 301 laps, raising his total laps led at the track to over 1,000.
Truex Jr. also swept both stages and scored maximum points to retake the lead of the points standings. With his third win of the season, Truex Jr. is firmly planted as a favorite for the NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Playoff Cutline
The final positions in the playoffs continue to rotate on a weekly basis in the NASCAR Cup Series. The margins between the drivers are so close that they can rotate on a lap-by-lap basis.
Bubba Wallace, Michael McDowell, and Daniel Suarez leave New Hampshire each separated by a single point. With six races remaining before the playoffs, every mistake is magnified as the trio battle for the final two playoff positions.
Bubba Wallace overcame multiple mistakes on pit road to finish inside the top 10 and regain a playoff spot. Meanwhile, Michael McDowell was unable to turn his quick speed from practice into a top 10 and fell outside of the playoffs.
Every single point matters as the threat of a driver below them winning a race and locking into the playoffs also looms.
