Martin Truex Jr continues his 2023 success with a New Hampshire Motor Speedway victory in the Crayon 301 on Monday afternoon.
The NASCAR Cup Series stays on course through the hot summer with a trip up north to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This track has been dubbed the “Magic Mile” as it has a history of putting on instant classics. It is a flat, one-mile speedway that is typically slick in the middle of the summer. Drivers struggle to retain grip as they carry a lot of speed into the flat sweeping corners. This track is always fun to watch teams play different strategies.
The Pole Sitter, Christopher Bell Leads the field to the Green Flag
Christopher Bell had the pole coming into Sunday’s race, but he could not hold off Martin Truex Jr. Truex Jr made a run for the lead on the second lap of the race and was successful.
On lap 28, AJ Allmendinger fell victim to the slick corners and spun around coming off the second turn. William Byron held the lead coming out of the caution, but once more it was Martin Truex Jr making the charge.
Byron held the lead for eight laps before Truex Jr completed his pass for the front. Truex dominated the rest of the first stage earning himself the victory.
Stage One Winner Leads Off the Second Stage
Martin Truex Jr led the field back to the green flag to kick off the second segment. The field settled down and began to log laps around the one-mile speedway. Midway through the stage, drivers began to come down pit road under the green flag.
Martin Truex Jr was able to cycle back into the lead. With twenty-four laps remaining in the second stage, Erik Jones spun around in the fourth turn. On the following restart, Aric Almirola lost control and spun into the outside fence. Despite these quick cautions, Martin Truex Jr controlled the field and won the second stage.
Truex Continues his Dominance
With just over one hundred laps remaining, Martin Truex Jr jumped out front to begin the final stage. The race went on a long green flag run for 79 laps before Noah Gragson blew a tire and crashed into the second-turn fence.
Kevin Harvick stayed out and took over the lead on the restart. The race was not green for long as Alex Bowman spun around three laps after the restart. There was another quick caution with Christopher Bell wrecking into the third turn wall.
Martin Truex Jr Continues His 2023 Success with a New Hampshire Victory
Through all the wreckage, Martin Truex Jr found himself on the front row on a restart with eight laps remaining. He had a significant jump and was able to move in front of Kyle Larson. Joey Logano followed in a close second place, but could not track down Martin Truex Jr. For the first time in his career, Martin Truex Jr finally captured his first win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It was his third victory of the season.
The Crayon 301 Results
The NASCAR Cup Series Point Standings
New Hampshire Motor Speedway has been a good track for Martin Truex Jr., but the former champion could never find himself in victory lane. Truex Jr has led over one-thousand laps at this speedway, but leading on the last lap was his challenge. Martin found himself in another hotrod on Monday afternoon’s race as he led 254 out of the 301 laps run. It was a dominating performance that appeared to slip out of his grasp once more. Kevin Harvick captured the lead late leaving Martin Truex Jr fighting to return to the front. Martin Truex JR was able to stay in the fight and had an opportunity late to win the race. With a valiant effort, Martin Truex Jr was rewarded with a New Hampshire victory.