September 4, 2016 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – Martin Truex Jr.’s luck changed. Kevin Harvick’s didn’t. And that was the difference in Truex’s unexpected victory in Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Truex led 28 laps, all after passing Ryan Newman for the top spot on Lap 339 of 367. Harvick led a race-high 214 laps, bringing his career total to 10,068. But where Truex’s much-maligned pit crew performed its finest stop when it counted most—under caution on Lap 351—Harvick’s crew experienced the sorts of problems that have become chronic this season. Where Truex’s over-the-wall gang…

July 9, 2016 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service SPARTA, Ky. – Brad Keselowski had his mojo working in Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. Saving just enough fuel to get to the finish line, Keselowski eked out a heart-thumping victory over Carl Edwards to win his second consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race and his third at Kentucky Speedway. But this was not the same bumpy, abrasive Kentucky Speedway where Keselowski went to Victory Lane in 2012 and 2014. This was a repaved, reconfigured 1.5-mile intermediate track fraught with treachery, especially when combined with the lower-downforce aerodynamic package in…

July 2, 2016 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Brad Keselowski had an excellent solution for the massive wrecks that scrambled the finishing order of Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. He stayed ahead of all of them. Leading 115 of 161 laps in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford, Keselowski sped away from his pursuers after a restart in overtime and posted his third victory of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season in thoroughly convincing fashion. The victory was Keselowski’s first at Daytona and the 20th of his career, and it reinforced his…

May 29, 2016 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – The heartbreak kid survived 600 miles without another broken heart. Instead, Martin Truex Jr. broke records in Sunday night’s victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a race in which the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota set new standards for domination. Truex led 392 of 400 laps, most ever in NASCAR’s longest Sprint Cup Series race. He spent 588 of 600 miles at the front of the field, most ever in a single race in NASCAR history. And when it was over, Truex had his…

May 7, 2016 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Kyle Busch finally overcame his gremlins at Kansas Speedway in a race that left Martin Truex Jr. overcome with frustration. On Saturday night—in stark contrast to many of his prior misadventures at the 1.5-mile track—Busch waited until after the Go Bowling 400 to destroy his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, a feat he accomplished during his celebratory burnout. Busch took the lead for good on Lap 231 of 267 after Truex, who led a race-high 172 laps, brought his car back to pit road on Lap 215 because…