Martin Truex Jr. dominates the weekend en route to victory in Fontana.
It was the Martin Truex Jr. show in California this weekend as he led a race high 125 laps on his way to capturing the checkered flag at the Auto Club 400 for his first career victory on a two-mile track. Truex became the first NASCAR driver to capture the pole and all the stages in a race since stage racing was introduced in 2017. He remains the only driver to win all the stages of a race, this being the third time he has accomplished the feat. The No. 78 team struggled with slow pit stops, but that was easily overcome by having the fastest car on the track. Truex's win is the first for a Toyota in 2018.
Kevin Harvick was the man to beat entering this race, as he was gunning for his fourth consecutive cup victory. That dream was quickly crushed when Harvick made contact with Kyle Larson on lap 37. Harvick's No. 4 careened into the wall, resulting in significant damage to the rear of the car. The wreck didn't knock him out of the race, but he failed to recapture competitive speed. He finished nine laps down in 35th place. After the race, Harvick took the blame for making contact with Larson.
Kyle Larson had his five-race winning streak on two mile tracks snapped, but did manage to finish in second place despite not leading a single lap during the race. After the race Larson said, "I would have liked to be one spot better, but I couldn't even see Martin." The second-place finish was the best so far for Larson in 2018. Larson remains dangerous on two-mile tracks and will be a top contender when the cup series goes to Michigan.
Kyle Busch continued to be one of the better drivers at Fontana with his third-place finish. He led the second most laps with 62. Larry McReynolds of Fox Sports reported Busch once again suffered a pit road mishap, with a crew member making the wrong wedge adjustment during their last pit stop. Busch now has three top-five finishes in a row, but the No. 18 team needs to eliminate mistakes on pit road if they want the car to find its way to victory lane.
Team Penske maintained their consistency in finding speed in Fontana with top-five finishes for both of their cars. The No. 2 of Brad Keselowski finished in fourth while the No. 22 of Joey Logano was right behind him in fifth. This is the fourth consecutive year both cars finished in the top ten.
The top ten was rounded out by Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney, Jimmie Johnson, and Austin DiIlon. Blaney's eighth-place finish was another feather in the cap for Team Penske since they supply the cars for No. 12's owners, Wood Brothers Racing. Jimmie Johnson managed to finish in the top ten for the first time this season. It makes for a little good news for the No. 48 team in what was a tough week after it was announced that Lowe's was dropping their sponsorship after this season.
Click here for full race results.
With his authoritative victory, Truex leapt to the top of the NASCAR driver point standings. Kevin Harvick's 35th-place finish knocked him from first to eighth in the standings.
You can see the updated Driver's Points Standings here.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series heads back east for short track racing next Sunday with the STP 500 in Martinsville, Virginia.
Author: @chops316
Editor: @ats-david
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