RACING roundup
SPRINT CUP
Truex dominates for second Chase win
DOVER, DEL.
Martin Truex Jr. dominated Sunday at Dover International Speedway for his second victory in the first three Chase races.
Tony Stewart finished 13th and the three-time NASCAR champion was knocked out of contention in the first elimination race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
Chris Buescher and Chip Ganassi teammates Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray also dropped out of the Chase. The field was sliced from 16 drivers to 12. Austin Dillon finished eighth and moved from outside the Chase to a transfer spot and has moved on to the next round.
Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch joined Truex and Dillon in the next round that opens at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Truex won for the fourth time this season in the No. 78 Chevrolet and paired this Chase win with his opening victory at Chicagoland. Only six cars finished on the lead lap.
“We’re not messing around, I guess,” Truex said. “We are here to get it done.”
Truex won his first career Cup race at Dover in 2007 and didn’t win again until 2013. But his career took off at Furniture Row Racing and he used a win at Pocono last year to make the Chase and become one of four drivers racing for the championship in the finale.
His career exploded this season. Truex led a stunning 392 laps in a Coca-Cola 600 victory and then won at Darlington just two races before the Chase opened. He has led at least 140 laps in three of the last four races.
Harvick won last week at New Hampshire and was the only other driver to earn an automatic berth in the second round.
XFINITY
Suarez starts twinbill with his second win
DOVER, DEL.
Daniel Suarez jumped out of his car and sprinted down the front stretch to grab the checkered flag and take an untraditional victory lap on the track.
“I had to run a little bit. That’s fine,” he said, laughing. “When you win, you can run a little bit.”
Suarez cruised into the second round of the Chase in the Xfinity Series with a win Sunday at Dover International Speedway.
He won his second career Xfinity race a day after rain washed out the race and forced a rare NASCAR doubleheader. NASCAR ran its first Xfinity-Cup doubleheader since April 25, 2010, at Talladega Superspeedway.
Suarez became the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR national race in June at Michigan. He became a part of NASCAR in 2011 and was involved in its Drive for Diversity and Next programs.
Team owner Joe Gibbs has been a stout supporter of NASCAR’s diversity programs.
“From a diversity standpoint and all he represents there from a Hispanic standpoint too, I think it’s huge for our sport,” he said. “He’s the perfect representative. He’s funny, he’s got a good sense of humor and I think he really, really appreciates where he is.”
Suarez said he was proud to learn in victory lane that he won during National Hispanic Heritage Month. He said he won for all of his fans across North America.
“Having all of the support that I have had from Mexico and from here in the U.S. and all of Latin America has been super special,” he said. “I really feel lucky to be in this position and to be able to represent all of them.”
Suarez led 123 of 200 laps in the No. 19 Toyota and joined Elliott Sadler in the second round of the Chase. Ty Dillon was second, followed by Justin Allgaier, Ryan Blaney and Alex Bowman.
With three top NASCAR Cup stars sitting out, the top five was filled with Xfinity regulars. Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano all had replacement drivers in the Xfinity race to focus on the Cup race, later won by Trux. Regan Smith finished 13th driving for Dillon; Drew Herring was 21st subbing for Busch; and Blaney filled in for Logano.
Associated Press