NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR takeaways: Martin Truex Jr. finally breaks through at New Hampshire

Published Jul. 17, 2023 5:45 p.m. ET

LOUDON, N.H. — It took 30 Cup starts and more than 1,000 laps led, but Martin Truex Jr. finally won a Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

One of the Northeast tracks that the New Jersey native used to visit as a kid, New Hampshire had been the one that had gotten away from Truex so many times, he had to wonder if he would ever win on the 1.058-mile oval.

He left no doubt Monday as he led 254 of the 301 laps on his way to his third Cup victory of the season.

"This is the first big track I ever came to with my dad and watched and the first time I ever seen Cup cars in person and Busch [now Xfinity] cars in person," Truex said. "It's been a special place for us.

"Being able to win [in the East Series], being able to win the Busch Series, this one has been eluding me for a long, long time. So I'm just really, really happy."

Takeaways from a race, postponed because of rain Sunday, where Truex took back the series points lead and was followed across the finish line by Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski.

Truex Wins Amid Future Buzz

Truex still hasn’t decided if he will return for another year but said he will have to make a decision soon.

"Will you please talk to him for me?" team owner Joe Gibbs said. "He tells me the same thing every year, that ‘I'm right in the middle of trying to make this decision.’

"I go, ‘Come on, what are you talking about, man? You're making money, you're having fun, you're driving race cars.’"

'The car was SO fast ... I'm speechless'

Martin Truex Jr. discusses winning the Crayon 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Crew chief James Small said the uncertainty doesn’t impact the team.

"We're just here to win every week and win the championship," Small said. "What will be is what will be. We don't even talk about it with him — none of us on the team [do].

"It's his decision, and whatever. We're happy either way, and we'll support him. Our focus is on this championship and winning that, and we'll worry about next year come December."

The 43-year-old Truex said he just wants to make sure he’s willing to give the effort it takes to win races.

"It takes a lot of commitment," Truex said. "It's a lot of travel, a lot of time missing things with family and friends and all those things that I've done for 25 years. Do I want to keep doing it and am I willing to sacrifice all those things again for my team?

"So that's just what I'm thinking about."

Preece Mad With McDowell

Ryan Preece went up to Michael McDowell after the race and got in his face as they had contact during the event with Preece finishing 28th.

"When I drove to the bottom on the flat, when I made my downshift, I didn’t get a good downshift and I got loose and I came up and hit him and put him in the wall," McDowell said.

"That’s completely 100 percent my fault. I understand why he is upset."

McDowell is in a position where he is trying to scratch and claw for every finish, and his 13th-place finish kept him above the current playoff cutline — by one point over Daniel Suarez.

Bubba Wallace was the big gainer as he went from 17th to 15th in the standings, three points behind the cutoff to currently two above.

Bowman, Elliott Facing Uphill Climb

Chase Elliott finished 12th but wasn’t top-10 in the two early stages and Alex Bowman finished 14th while earning just four stage points.

That leaves the two winless Hendrick drivers, both of whom have missed races this year because of injury, facing a more-than-likely must-win situation to make the playoffs.

Fast Thoughts with Bob Pockrass

Discussing whether Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman are in a must-win situations to make the playoffs.

Bowman is 20th in the standings, 42 points behind the cutoff while Elliott is 23rd in the standings, 60 points behind. There are six races left in the regular season.

The playoff field is the regular-season champion and then 15 drivers based on the number of wins with ties broken by points. There currently are 11 drivers who have victories this year, leaving five spots on points. With two road courses and the unpredictable Daytona among the races remaining, it is likely that there won’t even be five spots on points.

Among the winless drivers, Kevin Harvick (+137 on the cutoff), Brad Keselowski (+108) and Chris Buescher (+97) are in good shape as long as there are not more than two winners. Then there is a big gap to Wallace (+2), McDowell (+1), Daniel Suarez (-1). AJ Allmendinger (-20) and Ty Gibbs (-41) also sit ahead of Bowman.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass, and sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass.

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