Monday Martin Strikes Again, As Truex Dominates New Hampshire
Credit: Steven Senne/AP
We should have known what we were in for when the news broke early Sunday afternoon that the NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway would be postponed to Monday due to heavy rain. A Monday race on a one mile oval had Martin Truex Jr. domination written all over it, and sure enough, the 43 year old veteran took the rest of the field to school at the Magic Mile. He banked his 34th career victory in convincing fashion, holding off Joey Logano on a slew of late-race restarts to take his third win of the season.
Coming into the weekend, Truex had led nearly 1,000 total laps at New Hampshire in the Cup Series, but was yet to capture a checkered flag at the venue. Despite being fourth on the all-time laps led at New Hampshire list, and already having a pair of victories on the season, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell entered as the heavy favorite, as he boasts a history of success at the Magic Mile almost unrivaled by any other driver. Bell and Truex locked out the front row of the field, but it became clear early on that MTJ was the man to beat. He quickly dispensed of his teammate in the 20 car and held on to win the first stage, while Bell and his team faltered in the pits, leaving the 28 year old with a lot of ground to make up.
The second stage saw more Truex domination, and for a while, it looked like the only one who could hang with him was Aric Almirola for Stewart-Haas Racing. It has been a miserable year in the Cup Series for Almirola, but he has always been fantastic at New Hampshire, which is also the site of his most recent win for SHR back in 2021. Many expected him to run well, but it was very impressive to see him be the only one keeping within the same zip code as the 19 car. After a cycle of pit stops under caution, the 10 team got him out in the lead, but on the ensuing restart, the right-rear wheel nut fell off, causing the car to snap to the right and hit the outside wall. Almirola’s day was done, and had it not been for that loose wheel, he likely would have been in contention for the win late in the running, and could have miraculously punched his ticket into the playoffs with an upset victory.
Speaking of the playoffs, this race was one to forget for many drivers around or below the cutline. Bubba Wallace wound up with a solid eighth place finish, but a pair of pit-road miscues cost the 45 team the chance to bank valuable stage points. Despite that, his efforts were good enough to jump him into 15th place in the standings, currently +2 to the cutoff line. Daniel Suarez ran well early, but he quickly slid back to outside the top 25 midway through the race, and it took some bold yet successful pit strategy to claw out a 16th place result. Suarez now sits -1 to the cutline, but is still right in the hunt to point his way into the playoffs.
An early spin and subsequent equipment interference penalty cost A.J. Allmendinger all of the track position he had earned after qualifying 14th, and the Kaulig Racing driver spent the rest of the day playing catch up. He finished just inside the top 20, which isn’t a catastrophic result considering the struggles of those around him in points, but Allmendinger is now 20 points out of the playoffs. Behind him in the standings is Ty Gibbs at -41, who had a great run going until an issue on the second-to-last lap of the race saw him plummet to 27th, which is where he finished. Having earned no stage points on the day, Gibbs now has his work cut out for him in the coming weeks, as does Alex Bowman, who is now 42 points behind the cutline. A few stage points and a 14 place finish is all the 48 team has to show for an overall uninspiring day.
But by far the biggest disappointment of the race was Chase Elliott. He entered New Hampshire 60 points out of the playoffs, and nearing must-win territory. For a group that should be showing a sense of urgency, Hendrick Motorsports’ number 9 team showed anything but. For most of the race, Elliott ran outside the top 20, while his teammates Kyle Larson, William Byron, and even Alex Bowman were up front gaining stage points. The overall lack of pace from a driver that is accustomed to winning was shocking to say the least. Elliott somehow squeaked out a 12th place finish in the end, which was the best possible result given how slow he was for most of the weekend. Barely any ground was made on the playoff cutline, and now the 9 team will likely have to win one of the final six regular season races if they want to qualify for the Cup Series Playoffs. Certainly, this was a weekend to forget for Chase Elliott, his crew chief Alan Gustafson, and his entire fanbase.
However, it was a race to remember for Martin Truex Jr., as he would never relinquish his stranglehold on the event after winning the second stage. Just when it looked like the win was all locked up, Noah Gragson in the 42 Legacy Motor Club entry suffered the same fate as Almirola, and slammed into the wall after losing a wheel nut. This brought out a caution, and gave the field a shot to beat Truex on the restart. But, MTJ had no intention of giving away another New Hampshire victory, and he held on to the top spot. A few more yellows would fly, but no amount of restarts could take this race away from Truex, and after he finally took the white flag, he cruised back around to finally secure his elusive win at the Magic Mile. He was quite emotional (by his standards) in the post-race interview, and it’s obvious that the win means a lot to Truex and his family.
All-in-all, the event was a pretty standard New Hampshire race. The restarts were chaotic, but after a few laps most cars got strung out and passing became difficult. There were some interesting elements of strategy at times, a few cautions to bunch up the field, and some late-race antics that brought excitement to the final few laps. The crowd turn-out was fantastic despite the postponement to Monday, and considering Truex is from nearby Mayetta, New Jersey, I would imagine most of the fans in attendance were happy to see him win. It certainly was a magic day at the Magic Mile for MTJ.
