Martin Truex Jr. earned his second straight win to open the 2019 Monster Energy Cup Series playoffs after holding off Kyle Busch to take the Federated Auto Parts 400 in Richmond, Virginia, on Saturday.
Truex, who won the South Point 400 in Las Vegas last Sunday, also won Stage 1. He is atop the Monster Energy Cup Series leaderboard with six wins and first in the playoff standings.
Busch paced the field by leading for 202 laps and won Stage 2. He's first in laps led and stages won this season.
Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones finished third and fourth, respectively, giving Joe Gibbs Racing the top four Richmond finishers.
Here's a look at the top-10 results, the latest playoff standings, a quick recap and some highlights and reaction.
Top-10 Results
1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Kyle Busch
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Erik Jones
5. Brad Keselowski
6. Ryan Newman
7. Kyle Larson
8. Kevin Harvick
9. Clint Bowyer
10. Daniel Suarez
Full results can be found on NASCAR.com.
Top-16 Playoff Standings Post-Richmond:
1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Kyle Busch
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Brad Keselowski
6. Joey Logano
7. Chase Elliott
8. Kyle Larson
9. Ryan Newman
10. Ryan Blaney
11. Aric Almirola
12. William Byron
13. Alex Bowman
14. Erik Jones
15. Clint Bowyer
16. Kurt Busch
Results via NBC Sports Network broadcast.
The evening didn't look particularly promising for Truex after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun him out in the final stage:
Aaron Bearden of Motorsports Beat provided some context behind the spin:
However, Truex lined up third when he returned to the track:
By that point, Busch held the lead, but Truex drove his way back into contention and eventually passed him with 25 laps left:
Truex stayed in first for the rest of the night before a post-race celebration:
The Monster Energy Cup Series will return Sunday, Sept. 29 with the Bank of America ROVAL 400 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Charlotte Motor Speedway race will conclude the first round of the playoffs. Afterward, the 16-driver playoff field will be cut down to 12.
Per Kelly Crandall of RACER, Truex, Harvick and Busch have clinched top-12 spots.
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