LOUDON, NH
Date: August 2, 2020
Event: Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 (Round 20 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1.058-mile oval)
Format: 301 laps (Stages: 75 laps / 110 laps / 116 laps)
Start / Finish: 11th / 3rd (Running, completed 301 of 301 laps)
Point Standing: 7th (648 points, -155 points out of first)
Race Winner: Brad Keselowski
Stage 1 Winner: Denny Hamlin
Stage 2 Winner: Brad Keselowski
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-75)
- Martin Truex Jr. started 11th in Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and finished second in stage one.
- On the initial start of the race, Truex jumped into the top 10 and climbed his way up to eighth before the first caution on Lap 16.
- Crew chief James Small called Truex to pit road for four fresh tires and fuel during the caution. Following the pit stop, the No. 19 Sport Clips Toyota Camry lined up 15th for the Lap-22 restart after several cars opted not to pit and moved ahead of Truex in the lineup.
- Truex patiently worked his way up the leaderboard throughout the stage and found himself running sixth when the caution waved again on Lap 63.
- Small brought Truex back to pit road again during the caution. A quick pit stop by the Sport Clips team put Truex back on track in 11th. However, he was third amongst the group of drivers with fresh tires for the final eight-lap sprint to the end of the stage.
- When the race resumed, the Sport Clips Camry pounced on the competition as Truex charged through the field and made his way to second before the stage ended on Lap 75.
- Truex opted not to pit after the stage and lined up second to begin the second segment.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 76-185)
- Truex started second and finished eighth in stage two.
- Early in stage two, Truex grabbed the runner-up spot and briefly challenged race leader Denny Hamlin before the caution was displayed on Lap 93 because of rain.
- During the caution, the Sport Clips team pitted for four fresh tires, fuel, and a chassis adjustment. Unfortunately, a tire wandered outside the pit box and the No. 19 team was given an uncontrolled tire penalty. As a result, Truex restarted from the rear of the field in 31st when the race resumed on Lap 101.
- He wasted little time advancing forward. The Sport Clips Camry was back inside the top 20 after 11 laps. Not long after that, Truex rejoined the top 15 on Lap 122. The race continued to run green for an extended period and the No. 19 driver’s ascent towards the top 10 did the same.
- On Lap 163, Truex was back inside the top 10 and he was up to eighth when another caution waved on Lap 171.
- Through a pair of restarts late in stage two, Truex held on to the eighth position as the stage ended on Lap 185.
Stage 3 Recap (Laps 186-301)
- Truex started seventh to begin the final stage and finished third in Sunday afternoon’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
- The Mayetta, New Jersey native moved up to sixth in the early portions of the final stage before a caution on Lap 204 provided the Sport Clips team the opportunity to make their final pit stop of the race.
- The No. 19 Camry restarted 11th with 93 laps remaining and Truex managed to grab one spot before yet another caution waved on Lap 213.
- With 83 laps to go, Truex restarted fifth. He moved into fourth quickly after the green flag and bypassed Joey Logano for third several laps later.
- Truex spent the remainder of the race searching high and low for the fastest groove around the ‘Magic Mile’ before ultimately ending the day with a third-place finish.
Additional Notes
- With today’s result, Truex earned his third top-three finish in the past four races. He also finished third at Kentucky Speedway (July 12) and Kansas Speedway (July 23).
- Truex’s third-place effort matched his best career finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Overall, it was his seventh top-five run at the 1.058-mile oval.
- Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin finished second to give the team two of the top-three finishers for the second consecutive week.
Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 19 Sport Clips Toyota Camry
Is this finish a little better than you might have expected in the middle of this race?
“We ran second in the first stage and had a tire get away on pit road, so we had to come from the back. That definitely made things a lot more challenging. We had a decent Sport Clips Toyota. It wasn’t driving quite like we needed it to and then it kind of burned the tires off after 25 or 30 laps. We could hang with them and then we would fall consistently off the 2 (Brad Keselowski) and the 11 (Denny Hamlin). Third-best car and we finished third, so all in all, it was a good day. We just have to find a little bit more. We missed the balance a little bit today. I love coming up here to Loudon and this was a fun day.”
Next Up: The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway next weekend for two races on the two-mile track. Coverage of Saturday’s race begins at 4 p.m. ET while Sunday’s event starts at 4:30 p.m. ET. Both races will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.