Martin Truex Jr. dominates Crayon 301 for third win of the season

What can you say about Martin Truex Jr. at this point? When he’s got it going, he’s the most dominant driver in the NASCAR Cup Series. He did it at Dover, he did it at Sonoma, and he’s done it once again at New Hampshire. A track where he has led so many times, but now, he’s got the checkered flag in hand.

Although he started P2 next to his teammate Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr. jumped out to the lead and took over. He was up front all afternoon and he wins another race on a Monday, the third of his career. This Magic Mile win will go great with his victory at the Monster Mile.

Truex Jr. won both stages and was able to hold off drivers like Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, and more. He dominated the Crayon 301, but he had to earn it in the end as the track ate up cars and caution flags flew.

RETWEET to congratulate @MartinTruex_Jr for WINNING at @NHMS!

That lobster's all yours, MTJ! 🦞 pic.twitter.com/qUdnPem5oR

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 17, 2023

While it was a dominant performance, this was not a boring race. We had three-wide and even four-wide at times throughout the field. Drivers and crew chiefs debated strategy calls. This new short-track tire produced what was the best short-track race that we have seen all year, in my opinion.

It felt as though Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest car, and he was. However, his strategy calls and ability to adapt to the changing track and his competitors – were unmatched and it was impressive. This was a different kind of dominance than we saw in his previous two victories.

In other words yes, he led all but a couple of handfuls of laps, but he was never safe.

Martin Truex Jr. wins third race of the season

Right now, things are looking a lot like 2017, if you ask me. It hasn’t been as dominant of a season as that, but Martin Truex Jr. has three wins and will likely lead the points standings after this race.

Truex Jr. wanted to finally get the win at New Hampshire and he did today. On a Monday, in a postponed Crayon 301, Truex Jr. delivered a classic performance. He fought off challengers from Ford, Chevy, and his own team. After failing to secure the pole award, I’m sure he’s forgotten all about qualifying at this point.

This track and likely this new tire, gave drivers fits. We saw wheels blow up, drivers go too deep in the turn and hit the wall. Plenty of cautions to make this one interesting. When you look at all of the strategy plays we saw today, it is no wonder why this race was so great.

Big win for Martin Truex Jr. He will now be able to control his destiny. Perhaps a regular-season championship is coming – and maybe another championship 10 races after.

Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Austin Dillon, and Chase Briscoe are the top 10.