NASCAR | Truex, Jr. Dominates to Win Quaker State 400

07/08/2017 11:24 PM

by Andrew Chernoff
• @ADChernoff

• Filed under: Sports Night

Domination.

That word can be applied to Martin Truex, Jr.‘s performance during the 2017 Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway.

Truex, Jr. was leading at the end of all three stages of the race, en route to claiming his third victory of the season.

“This was the best car I’ve ever driven tonight,” said Truex Jr.

The driver of the Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota spent most of the early part of the race in Kyle Busch’s shadow. But, whenever Truex, Jr. was able to get out front, he appeared untouchable.

Truex, Jr. led 152 of the 274 laps, holding off Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott for the win.

All three of Truex, Jr.‘s wins in 2017 have come on 1.5-mile ovals. He won in Las Vegas in early March and won again at Kansas in May.

As a result of Saturday’s win, Truex, Jr. is only one point out of first place in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings. Larson is the points leader.

Kyle Busch, who is third in points, led the second-most laps (112) on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished 12th in what was likely his final MENCS race at Kentucky Speedway.

Andrew Chernoff

Andrew is a sports anchor and sports managing editor for Spectrum News. He covers sports all across the state of Kentucky for Sports Night, which airs weeknights at 6:30 and 10:30 on Spectrum News. Andrew was a sports anchor and reporter at KFDM/KBTV in Beaumont, Texas for four years before making the move back home to the Midwest. He is originally from Carmel, Indiana and majored in broadcast journalism and political science at Syracuse University.

When he’s not on the air or in the field covering sports, you can likely find Andrew playing golf, watching IndyCar and Formula 1 races, or exploring the state of Kentucky. His favorite sport is open-wheel racing. In fact, he has not missed an Indianapolis 500 since the early 2000s.

Whether he is working sporting events or not, he always loves talking sports. He is a prolific tweeter, so if you want to stay “in the know” about sports in the Bluegrass, follow Andrew on Twitter @ADChernoff. If you have a story idea for our sports team, send it to Andrew at Andrew.Chernoff@charter.com.