NASCAR at Chicagoland 2017 Results: Martin Truex Jr. Wins Opening Playoff Race

Martin Truex Jr. entered the Monster Energy Cup Series playoffs as the points leader, and he remains in first place following the Tales of the Turtle 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois.

Truex held off Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick to win the opening race of the playoffs Sunday. It's his fifth victory of the 2017 season, and the result also ensures he advances to the next playoff round.

Truex endured a roller-coaster afternoon. The No. 78 car required four inspections before it was finally cleared for the race, and he served a speeding penalty in the second stage before making his way back up the leaderboard. According to NASCAR.com's Kelly Crandall, Truex also had a problem with the lug nuts on his tires shortly after the penalty that required an unplanned trip to pit road.

Below are the top 10 drivers from the Tale of the Turtles 400, with the full standings available on NASCAR.com:

1. Martin Truex Jr.

2. Chase Elliott

3. Kevin Harvick

4. Denny Hamlin

5. Kyle Larson

6. Brad Keselowski

7. Joey Logano

8. Jimmie Johnson

9. Matt Kenseth

10. Jamie McMurray

While Truex finished a little over seven seconds ahead of Elliott, NASCAR writer Jeff Gluck noted Truex endured his fair share of bad luck in recent weeks:

This time around, it was smooth sailing for Truex as he approached the finish line. NASCAR on NBC shared a replay of the race's final lap:

Truex led 77 of the race's 267 laps, and despite his various setbacks, he remained near the top of the leaderboard for almost the entirety of the event. He finished the first stage in 10th place and rose to third by the end of the second.

Kyle Busch, on the other hand, was unable to fight back from an early issue, which erased what was a strong start.

Busch led the most laps of any driver (85) and claimed the first-stage victory but finished two laps behind the leaders. Shortly after the second stage began, he incurred a pass-through penalty when one of his crew members left the wall too early during a pit stop. Busch never recovered from the penalty and was a non-factor over the remainder of the race.

While a poor result can carry significant consequences at this stage of the year, Yahoo Sports' Nick Bromberg tweeted all is not lost for Busch:

Few drivers were more snakebitten in 2016 than Truex—so much so that it became a running joke throughout the season. Sunday offered further evidence why 2017 is such a stark contrast to the previous campaign. This time last year, Truex's penalty and mechanical problems would probably have derailed his chances of winning and negatively impacted his playoff hopes.

Instead, Truex strengthened his position as the driver to beat in the playoffs. 

Two more races remain before the playoff field is whittled from 16 to 12 drivers. The Monster Energy Cup Series shifts to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon for the ISM Connect 300 on Sept. 24.

Denny Hamlin was victorious earlier this year in New Hampshire when he captured the checkered flag at the Overton's 301 in July.