Race Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Notes:
● Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 19 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, finished fourth in Sunday’s Ambetter 301 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.
● Truex Jr. started from the pole and led every lap of the first stage to pick up his sixth stage win of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. A quick pit stop for four tires and fuel placed him back in the top spot to start the second stage.
● The 2017 Cup Series Champion maintained the lead until a caution on lap 90 when most teams elected to make a trip to pit road for fuel. Truex once again won the race off pit road but a few teams stayed out during the caution which placed the No. 19 Interstate Batteries Toyota in fourth for the restart.
● Green-flag racing resumed and during the next few laps Truex patiently reeled in the cars at the front of the field. He reassumed the lead on lap 120 and maintained the top spot to the end of the stage to score the stage 2 win.
● The No. 19 Interstate Batteries Toyota was in the lead when a caution on lap 206 gave everyone a chance to make a trip to pit road for service and fuel which would allow teams to make it to the end of the race without stopping again. The No. 19 team changed right-side tires and added fuel while a handful of drivers stayed on the track. This placed Truex in third place for the restart. An issue on the restart resulted in Truex getting caught in a three-wide situation. Rather than wreck he lost a handful of positions, dropping back to 10th place.
● During the next several laps, Truex raced hard and steadily picked up positions. The race went to the scheduled end without another caution which allowed the leaders to create a significant lead. Truex was able to move back among the top-five in fourth place but ran out of laps to be able to contend for the win.
Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 19 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:
“We had the car to win today but we just put on two tires and got in a bad spot on the last restart with our Interstate Batteries Toyota. I got put three-wide on the restart and the car in front of me didn’t get going. I tried to shove him but just couldn’t get going. My car just wasn’t the same on two tires and couldn’t go anywhere. We probably should have just done four tires I guess.”
Team Interstate Results:
● Christopher Bell (Finished 1st / Running, completed 301 of 301 laps)
● Martin Truex Jr. (Finished 4th / Running, completed 301 of 301 laps)
● Denny Hamlin (Finished 6th / Running, completed 301 of 301 laps)
● Kyle Busch (Finished 12th / Running, completed 301 of 301 laps)
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 on Sunday, July 24 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The race begins at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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