Truex edges Larson at Pocono
Martin Truex Jr. had his car parked on the White House lawn and was feted with a day in his honor in his home state of New Jersey. Nearly seven months after winning his first NASCAR Cup championship, Truex’s whirlwind victory tour remains on a barnstorming schedule.
“It just kind of reminded us of how big a deal it is to win a championship in this sport,” Truex said.
Lost in the shuffle in a season in which Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch have turned the Cup Series into a two-driver show, Truex came to Pocono and gave the field a reminder that he’s still a driver to beat in the championship race.
Truex stayed out on pivotal caution late in Sunday’s race to take the lead, then pulled away off a restart with seven laps left to win at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., and thrust himself into title contention.
“Just happy today that things kind of went our way a little bit for once,” Truex said.
Truex said it with a straight face, as the 37-year-old Furniture Row Racing driver is still having the type of season that most drivers would love to produce. He won the fifth race of the season at Fontana and had runner-up finishes in each of the last two races heading into Pocono, where he won his first race for FRR in 2015 and launched his journeyman-to-champion career metamorphosis.
Still, Busch and Harvick had made a habit of collecting checkered f lags; the two former Cup champions combined to win nine of the first 13 races.
And each driver spent enough time in front — Harvick led 89 laps; Busch 13 — that a one-two finish at Pocono seemed almost certain on the 21⁄2-mile track.
Truex and Harvick each stayed out on a caution with 20 laps left in the race. Truex took the lead when Busch made a pit stop. Truex then held off a hard-charging Kyle Larson down the stretch and showed he’s still a threat to win his second straight title.
Larson finished second, followed by Busch and Harvick.
Ryan Hunter-Reay won his first IndyCar race since 2015, prevailing at Belle Isle in Detroit after teammate Alexander Rossi slid off the track at a turn with about seven laps to go. Rossi, the pole winner, was struggling to hold off Hunter-Reay before the mishap at a right turn on lap 64 of 70. From there, it was smooth sailing for Hunter-Reay on the 2.35-mile street course. He finished more than 11 seconds ahead of second-place Will Power.
Jorge Lorenzo led virtually from start to finish to win the Italian Grand Prix. Lorenzo surged ahead of pole sitter Valentino Rossi into the first turn at the Mugello circuit and quickly established a comfortable lead. Andrea Dovizioso finished second, more than six seconds behind, and Rossi crossed third.