Truex Wins at Dover, Dillon Transfers to Round 2

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Martin Truex Jr. won the Citizen Soldier 400 from Dover International Speedway on Sunday afternoon, leading 187 of 400 laps in dominating fashion.

The victory was the fourth of the season for Truex, who said the win shows his team is here to win.

“We’re not messing around,” Truex said.  “We are here to get it done, and this is the best bunch of guys you could ever ask for.”

Truex has had his fair share of struggles in the past, and he said this is the best start to the Chase he could ever ask for.

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“I can remember going home on days really frustrated.  The last month and a half has just been ridiculous; it’s been like a fairytale dream.”

The race was also the final race of the first round for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.  Austin Dillon was able to advance after Ganassi Racing teammates Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson had trouble early on.  Larson was upset following the race after a pit road penalty put the race out of reach.

“A nice little Christmas present to Austin there from the Ganassi cars,” Larson said.

Dillon said his car was one of the fastest his team has had all season.  After locking himself into the next round, Dillon believes his team has what it takes to play spoiler to some of the top contenders.

“Now it’s time to knock some of these guys out,” Dillon said.  “We’ve got this opportunity, and we’re going to be the underdog in this next round.” 

Unofficial results:

1. Martin Truex Jr.

2. Kyle Busch

3. Chase Elliott

4. Brad Keselowski

5. Matt Kenseth

6. Joey Logano

7. Jimmie Johnson

8. Austin Dillon

9. Denny Hamlin

10. Jeff Gordon

11. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

12. Kasey Kahne

13. Tony Stewart

14. Carl Edwards

15. Kurt Busch

16. Aric Almirola

17. Ryan Newman

18. Greg Biffle

19. AJ Allmendinger

20. Trevor Bayne

21. Brian Scott

22. Paul Menard

23. Chris Buescher

24. Clint Bowyer

25. Kyle Larson

26. Casey Mears

27. Matt DiBenedetto

28. Danica Patrick

29. Landon Cassill

30. David Ragan

31. Regan Smith

32. Ty Dillon

33. Michael Annett

34. Timmy Hill

35. Reed Sorenson

36. Jeffrey Earnhardt

37. Kevin Harvick

38. Ryan Blaney

39. Josh Wise

40. Jamie McMurray