Truex’s luck turns with dominating win in Coca-Cola 600
May 29, 2016
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
CONCORD, N.C. – The heartbreak kid survived 600 miles without another broken heart.
Instead,
Martin Truex Jr. broke records in Sunday night’s victory in the
Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a race in which the driver of
the No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota
set new standards for domination.
Truex
led 392 of 400 laps, most ever in NASCAR’s longest Sprint Cup Series
race. He spent 588 of 600 miles at the front of the field, most ever in a
single race in NASCAR history.
And
when it was over, Truex had his first victory of the season, the fourth
of his career and an all-but-guaranteed berth in the Chase for the
NASCAR Sprint Cup. Perhaps more
important, Truex erased a litany of crushing disappointments that
continued into this season and ruined potential winning efforts at
Texas, Kansas and Dover.
“It’s
just kind of sinking in now that we won the 600,” Truex said in Victory
Lane. “Really proud of my team – everybody that made this possible,
that believed in me, gave
me this opportunity. (crew chief) Cole Pearn, Jazzy (team engineer Jeff
Curtis), my guys are something special.
“I
want to thank all of them. This is a big day. Got the troops on the
cars (for Memorial Day recognition). This is a special weekend. It’s
really neat to bring that name (of
fallen hero Gunnery Sergeant Jeffrey E. Bohr Jr.) home to Victory Lane.
Just a lot of emotion right now. Not really sure it’s sunk in yet. Just
an amazing day, an amazing weekend for all of us. It’s a weekend you
dream about."
Truex
finished 2.572 seconds ahead of Kevin Harvick, whose car tightened up
during the final 56-lap green-flag run. Jimmie Johnson ran third and led
the second-most laps –
five.
Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski completed the top five, but the night belonged to Truex.
When
darkness fell, Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet came to
life, but the tight handling condition that developed over the final 80
miles prevented him from taking
the fight to Truex.
“Well,
I saw him for about 50 miles or 75 miles,” Harvick said. “The rest of
the night I never saw him. I was back there swatting flies in the middle
of the pack. I didn't
have a lot of time to see the 78.”
Johnson was pleased with the speed in his own No. 48 Chevrolet, but it was no match for Truex’s Camry.
“I
kind of felt like he was playing with us,” Johnson said. “He was so
fast. I would flatfoot (Turns) 1 and 2, and have a nose on him, and he
would drive right back by me into
Turn 3. It was so fast. It was very impressive. I’m happy for Martin.
That team and those guys worked awfully hard to get where they’re at.”
But for the vagaries of green-flag pit stop cycles, Truex was out front for the entire race.
He led 336 of the first 344 laps, surpassing the race and speedway record of 335 set by 1967 Coke 600 winner Jim Paschal.
The
average speed of the race, 160.644 mph, was a record for a Coca-Cola
600 that went the full distance, as was the duration of the race, 3
hours, 44 minutes, 8 seconds. Truex
achieved a perfect driver rating of 150.0, the first of his career.
“I
had confidence,” Truex added. “I had faith. I had confidence in my
team. I’ve got a lot of great people behind me. Sherry (Pollex, Truex’s
girlfriend and an ovarian cancer
survivor), she gives me a lot of inspiration.
“And
we keep on fighting. We never give up. We never quit. We always keep
digging, and I’m proud of my guys for sticking by me. They all did a
great job tonight. There are
so many fans that have supported us the last few years with so many
heartbreaks. I really appreciate that. I really had fun tonight.”
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race - Coca-Cola 600
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Concord, North Carolina
Sunday, May 29, 2016
1. (1) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 400.
2. (8) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 400.
3. (7) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 400.
4. (4) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 400.
5. (5) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 400.
6. (13) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 400.
7. (27) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 400.
8. (12) Chase Elliott #, Chevrolet, 400.
9. (2) Joey Logano, Ford, 400.
10. (14) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 400.
11. (6) Greg Biffle, Ford, 400.
12. (28) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 400.
13. (24) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 400.
14. (25) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 400.
15. (3) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 400.
16. (15) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 399.
17. (11) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 399.
18. (9) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 399.
19. (23) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 399.
20. (18) * Ryan Blaney #, Ford, 397.
21. (19) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 396.
22. (29) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 395.
23. (26) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 395.
24. (21) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 395.
25. (10) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 395.
26. (20) Aric Almirola, Ford, 395.
27. (33) Landon Cassill, Ford, 395.
28. (31) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 395.
29. (30) Brian Scott #, Ford, 394.
30. (17) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 394.
31. (35) David Ragan, Toyota, 393.
32. (34) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 393.
33. (16) Kyle Busch, Toyota, Accident, 392.
34. (32) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 391.
35. (36) * Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 391.
36. (38) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 390.
37. (22) Chris Buescher #, Ford, 388.
38. (37) * Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 387.
39. (39) Jeffrey Earnhardt #, Ford, 382.
40. (40) * Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, Clutch, 200.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 160.655 mph.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 44 Mins, 05 Secs. Margin of Victory: 2.572 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 4 for 19 laps.
Lead Changes: 9 among 4 drivers.
Lap
Leaders: M. Truex Jr. 1-77; J. Johnson 78-79; M. Truex Jr. 80-164; J.
Johnson 165; J. Logano 166; M. Truex Jr. 167-298; P. Menard 299-300; M.
Truex Jr. 301-343; J. Johnson
344-345; M. Truex Jr. 346-400.
Leaders
Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): M. Truex Jr. 5 times for 392
laps; J. Johnson 3 times for 5 laps; P. Menard 1 time for 2 laps; J.
Logano 1 time for 1 lap.
Top
16 in Points: K. Harvick - 457; Kurt Busch - 421; J. Johnson - 409;
Kyle Busch - 405; C. Edwards - 404; B. Keselowski - 404; M. Truex Jr. -
381; C. Elliott # - 374; J.
Logano - 373; M. Kenseth - 347; D. Hamlin - 345; A. Dillon - 344; D.
Earnhardt Jr. - 341; J. Mcmurray - 318; *. Blaney # - 309; R. Newman -
309.
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