Opportunistic Truex gets coveted win in Bojangles’ Southern 500
September 4, 2016
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Martin Truex Jr.’s luck changed. Kevin Harvick’s didn’t.
And that was the difference in Truex’s unexpected victory in Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
Truex led 28 laps, all after passing Ryan Newman for the top spot on Lap 339 of 367.
Harvick
led a race-high 214 laps, bringing his career total to 10,068. But
where Truex’s much-maligned pit crew performed its finest stop when it
counted most—under caution on
Lap 351—Harvick’s crew experienced the sorts of problems that have
become chronic this season.
Where
Truex’s over-the-wall gang got the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing
Chevrolet off pit road with the lead for a restart on Lap 356, Harvick’s
crew lost a net of 17 spots in the
pits over the course of the race.
The
bottom line? Truex, who has had the fastest car in a succession of
races this year, didn’t have the most potent equipment on Sunday.
Harvick did.
But
it was Truex who celebrated in Victory Lane, after beating Harvick to
the finish line by .606 seconds, leaving the driver of the No. 4
Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet to bemoan
his 17th second-place finish in the past 61 races—many of which he
could have won with flawless execution on pit road.
“This
is unbelievable,” said Truex, who earned his second NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series victory of the season and the fifth of his career. “I’ve always
loved this race track. I’ve
led a lot of laps here in my career, but something always happens, and
I’m so proud to get to Victory lane with this group. The pit crew was
flawless tonight—they won us the race.
“They
took a lot of heat for what happened last week (a blown pit stop at
Michigan resulting in a 20th-place finish). We’ve had a terrible streak
of bad luck. We’ve had super-fast
race cars. ... I knew the bad luck would stop coming, and we’d start
racking 'em off ... The pit crew’s done a great job, but they did
stumble last week, and this was a great way to make it up.”
Harvick’s
assessment of his crew’s performance stood in sharp contrast to
Truex’s. After issues with an air gun during a stop under caution on Lap
281, Harvick restarted 12th
after entering pit road with the lead. He spent the rest of the race
working his way forward but couldn’t catch Truex on the final 12-lap
run.
“Yeah,
we had a great car,” Harvick said. “The guys in the garage and at the
shop continue to do a great job, and we continue to give it away on pit
road. Pretty much summed
up the night. Just the dominant car, and just three bad stops on pit
road.”
Harvick indicated he was beyond giving encouragement to his pit crew.
“I’m
over being a cheerleader,” he said. "Those guys get paid a lot of money
to perform on pit road, and cheerleading hasn’t really been working.
You’ve got to get after it on
pit road and do your job.”
Kyle
Larson, last week’s Michigan winner, came home third. Denny Hamlin ran
fourth, followed by Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth. Kasey Kahne, Ryan
Newman, Brad Keselowski and Chase
Elliott completed the top 10.
Notes:
The No. 31 car of Ryan Newman and No. 42 car of Kyle Larson both failed
post-race LIS (laser inspection station) inspection. Any resulting
penalties will be announced
mid-week. … Harvick is the 17th driver to accumulate 10,000 or more
career laps led. ... Chris Buescher ran 17th and stretched his lead over
21st-place David Ragan to 11 points in the race for the 30th position
in the Sprint Cup standings. Buescher, who won
a rain-shortened race at Pocono in August, must hold 30th or better
next week at Richmond to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint
Cup. ... Fighting for the last Chase spot on points, Newman shaved Jamie
McMurray’s lead to seven points with one race
left before the cutoff. McMurray currently holds the final
Chase-eligible position. ... Truex’s victory was the fourth for the
Furniture Row organization. FRR won the Southern 500 with Regan Smith in
2011—Smith’s only triumph in a Sprint Cup car.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race - Bojangles' Southern 500
Darlington Raceway
Darlington, South Carolina
Sunday, September 04, 2016
1. (8) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 367.
2. (1) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 367.
3. (16) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 367.
4. (7) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 367.
5. (5) Joey Logano, Ford, 367.
6. (10) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 367.
7. (18) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 367.
8. (14) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 367.
9. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 367.
10. (11) Chase Elliott #, Chevrolet, 367.
11. (6) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 367.
12. (12) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 367.
13. (20) * Ryan Blaney #, Ford, 367.
14. (15) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 367.
15. (13) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 367.
16. (24) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 367.
17. (31) Chris Buescher #, Ford, 367.
18. (22) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, 367.
19. (3) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 366.
20. (33) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 366.
21. (32) David Ragan, Toyota, 366.
22. (27) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 365.
23. (21) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 365.
24. (25) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 365.
25. (28) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 365.
26. (35) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 364.
27. (30) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 364.
28. (37) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 362.
29. (40) * Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 361.
30. (29) Landon Cassill, Ford, 361.
31. (39) * Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 358.
32. (26) Aric Almirola, Ford, Accident, 346.
33. (9) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 328.
34. (4) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, Accident, 326.
35. (17) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, Overheating, 317.
36. (23) Greg Biffle, Ford, Accident, 295.
37. (36) * Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, Electrical, 250.
38. (38) Jeffrey Earnhardt #, Ford, Accident, 247.
39. (34) Brian Scott #, Ford, Accident, 199.
40. (19) Trevor Bayne, Ford, Engine, 161.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 126.437 mph.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 57 Mins, 54 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.606 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 10 for 52 laps.
Lead Changes: 14 among 8 drivers.
Lap
Leaders: K. Harvick 1-93; B. Keselowski 94-138; K. Harvick 139-162;
B. Keselowski 163-164; K. Harvick 165-251; D. Hamlin 252-261; Kyle Busch
262; M. Kenseth 263-272; K.
Harvick 273-281; D. Hamlin 282-284; K. Larson 285-329; R. Newman
330-338; M. Truex, Jr. 339-350; K. Harvick 351; M. Truex, Jr. 352-367.
Leaders
Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): K. Harvick 5 times for 214
laps; B. Keselowski 2 times for 47 laps; K. Larson 1 time for 45 laps;
M. Truex, Jr. 2 times for 28
laps; D. Hamlin 2 times for 13 laps; M. Kenseth 1 time for 10 laps; R.
Newman 1 time for 9 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 1 lap.
Top
16 in Points: K. Harvick - 840; B. Keselowski - 797; J. Logano - 752;
C. Edwards - 746; D. Hamlin - 729; Kurt Busch - 728; Kyle Busch - 727;
M. Truex, Jr. - 696; M. Kenseth
- 669; C. Elliott # - 659; J. Johnson - 656; A. Dillon - 651; J.
Mcmurray - 642; R. Newman - 635; K. Larson - 621; K. Kahne - 598.
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