Martin Truex Jr. won his second NASCAR Cup Series race of the season on Monday at Dover International Speedway. The race was originally scheduled for Sunday, but inclement weather pushed it back a day. Truex, a New Jersey native that considers Dover a home track, now has three career wins at the Monster Mile. Monday was the fifth time in the past seven Dover races where Truex finished inside the top five.
The 2017 Cup Series champ now has 21 career wins and is securely locked into the playoffs with 11 bonus points coming his way. Ten of those points have come from race wins, while the 11th was earned on Monday when Truex won Stage 2.
They'll definitely keep that setup. 😉@MartinTruex_Jr looks back on how his team got it done today at the @MonsterMile. pic.twitter.com/xMxvli6yyx
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 6, 2019
As for Stage 1, Chase Elliott started on the pole alongside Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron and led 108 laps. However, after a couple of late cautions, Joey Logano was able to take the lead in the final 14 laps and take the green-and-white checkered. The stage win was Logano's fifth of the season, tying him with Kyle Busch for the series lead.
Gander RV 400 results
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Alex Bowman
- Kyle Larson
- Kevin Harvick
- Chase Elliott
- Erik Jones
- Joey Logano
- William Byron
- Clint Bowyer
- Kyle Busch
- Daniel Suarez
- Brad Keselowski
- Kurt Busch
- Jimmie Johnson
- Ryan Blaney
- Aric Almirola
- Paul Menard
- Ryan Newman
- Austin Dillon
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Denny Hamlin
- Ty Dillon
- Chris Buescher
- Michael McDowell
- Daniel Hemric
- David Ragan
- Bubba Wallace
- Ryan Preece
- Corey LaJoie
- Ross Chastain
- Landon Cassill
- Matt Tifft
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Cody Ware
- Reed Sorenson
- Quin Houff
- BJ McLeod
Stage 1: Chase Elliott dominates early, Joey Logano finishes strong
Chase Elliott started on the pole on Monday afternoon after weather conditions postponed Sunday's action. Elliott had no problem running faster times than the one posted in qualifying, leading the field early on.
Despite an early scare from Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin, the field stayed green up until the scheduled Lap 40 competition caution. Elliott led every lap before the yellow came out.
Early scare for Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin with Kurt Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. behind them. pic.twitter.com/jGnExyhy7D
— Matt Mayer (@MatthewMayerCBS) May 6, 2019
The No. 9 had no problem winning the race off pit road and resuming the lead ahead of Kyle Larson and Joey Logano as Stage 1 continued. Larson nearly took the lead on Lap 74 while Elliott battled through lapped traffic, but the No. 42 was unable to make the pass.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. brought out the caution with 15 to go in the stage, after cutting a tire and hitting the wall. Denny Hamlin was able to get back on the lead lap as the free pass beneficiary under yellow.
Ouch pic.twitter.com/nZHlnPw1iS
— Matt Mayer (@MatthewMayerCBS) May 6, 2019
During the caution, Joey Logano and William Byron beat Elliott off of pit road after opting to take two tires. Logano took the lead on the restart ahead of Brad Keselowski and Byron. Kevin Harvick also worked his way into the top five.
Quin Houff brought out the caution with five laps to go in the stage, cutting a tire and hitting the wall. It was a quickie yellow, allowing some of the cars in the back of the pack to pit however the leaders opted to stay out for a one lap shootout to conclude things.
Logano held off Keselowski on the restart and cruised to his fifth stage win of the season.
Stage 1 results
- Joey Logano
- Brad Keselowski
- Chase Elliott
- Kyle Larson
- Kevin Harvick
- William Byron
- Alex Bowman
- Ryan Blaney
- Erik Jones
- Kyle Busch
Stage 2: Martin Truex Jr. wins battle with Alex Bowman
After opting to take just two tires at the end of Stage 1, Logano and Byron were the only cars to come down pit road in between stages. This forfeited the lead to Keselowski, ahead of Elliott, for the start of Stage 2.
Keselowski, starting on the outside, held off Elliott for the lead to begin the stage. The No. 2 remained in the lead until green flag stops started with around 60 to go. For a brief few laps, Logano and Byron resurfaced out front, having operated on a different pit sequence. However, once the field cycled through, it was Elliott who reclaimed the top spot.
Elliott then began cruising out front, similarly to the way he controlled Stage 1. His teammate, Alex Bowman trailed in second and made a few attempts at the lead through lapped traffic until he eventually took the lead with less than 20 laps to go.
After passing Elliott, Bowman was instantly tasked with holding off Kevin Harvick and Truex Jr., who battled each other for second place. On the final lap of the stage, Bowman shot up top the top of the track, allowing Truex to complete the pass and come to the line as the stage winner.
Stage 2 results
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Alex Bowman
- Kevin Harvick
- Chase Elliott
- Brad Keselowski
- Kyle Larson
- Ryan Blaney
- Kyle Busch
- Clint Bowyer
- Erik Jones
Final Stage: Truex locks it up
Elliott and Bowman turned in the fastest pit stops between stages, but still weren't able to beat Truex off pit road. Truex then started the stage from the lead and held off Bowman on the restart.
As Truex led, his teammate Kyle Busch brushed up against the wall while riding in the top 10. Busch got on the radio afterwards and predicted that this would prevent their team from winning the race.
Kyle Busch scraped the wall pretty hard there. pic.twitter.com/MeHSqrPfaq
— Matt Mayer (@MatthewMayerCBS) May 6, 2019
Busch was afforded the opportunity to come down pit road and make repairs after his other teammate, Denny Hamlin, caught a flat tire and went spinning while trying to bring his car in. Due to traffic in the area, Hamlin was never able to make it down pit road under green and eventually spun out.
Denny Hamlin caught a flat and wasn't able to bring his car down pit road due to traffic on the track, which led us to this. All things considered, a pretty good save by Denny. pic.twitter.com/FRoJqUAPHz
— Matt Mayer (@MatthewMayerCBS) May 6, 2019
Truex held the lead on the restart ahead of Harvick and Bowman. He had no problem holding the lead in the stretch run either. Kyle Larson came down pit road under green with 81 laps to go, with Truex coming in from the lead on the following lap for scheduled stops.
Daniel Suarez, Jimmie Johnson and Aric Almirola opted to stay out while the rest of the field pit, with Suarez and Johnson exchanging the lead. Johnson and Almirola came down with 63 laps to go, leaving Suarez as the leader ahead of the entire field a lap down.
Suarez eventually hit pit road with 54 laps to go, turning the lead back over to Truex. The No. 41 was able to stay on the lead lap, cycling back to the 12th position after the strategy call. Staying out hurt Johnson and Almirola, who each went a lap down.
Truex -- on the other hand -- recycled to the lead with a considerable lead over Bowman as the race entered its final 50 laps. That lead continued to expand as the race went on. Unfortunately for the rest of the field, a caution never flew, which allowed Truex to cruise on to his second win of the season.
You can relive the Gander RV 400 below with our live blog from the race, and catch NASCAR all season long streaming on fuboTV.