Sunday afternoon (9/18) Martin Truex Jr. was able to capitalize on a late race restart to win the first race in NASCAR‘s playoffs, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

The first race in The Chase was somewhat uneventful on the track with just four caution periods. However, on pit row several contenders for the championship either made mistakes or their pit crews made a misstep to cause them to end the race with a larger mountain to climb if they want to advance to the round of 12. Martin Truex Jr. had a flat front tire which caused him to make an unscheduled pit stop making the idea of winning the race much more of a challenge.

While some Chase contenders were stumbling, others were improving their odds of moving on to the next round. Jimmie Johnson was doing all he could to earn the win and get the automatic advance on the Chase Grid. Jimmie led a race-high 118 of the 267-lap race. Late in the race Jimmie was caught speeding on pit row removing himself from contention for the win.

Another driver doing all he could to win the race was rookie Sprint Cup driver Chase Elliot who led 75 laps and looked to be set to score his first ever win in NASCAR’s top division and advance on the Chase Grid until the race’s final yellow flag was issued causing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 to go to the NASCAR overtime of a green-white-checkered finish.

Martin Truex Jr. had worked his way back toward the front through the race after his early race tire issue and was able to come out of the pit stops first to line up in the fourth spot as the first car with fresh tires. When the green flag waived he was able to rocket to the lead and check-out for the final two laps of the race to win the first race in The Chase.

Chase contenders Joey Logano and Chase Elliott finished in second and third respectively while non-contender Ryan Blaney took the fourth place finish. Chase contender Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five in the race. See the complete race results in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 here.

With the win, Martin Truex Jr. jumps five spots to the lead in the point standings. Brad Keselowski holds steady in second place with Kyle Busch falling back from the top spot to third place. Denny Hamlin slips back a spot to fourth place with Joey Logano moving up four places to fifth. See the complete NASCAR point standings here.

As mentioned earlier, the win gives Martin Truex Jr. an automatic advance to the next round in The Chase. The remaining 15 drivers on the Chase Grid must either win one of the next two races or be in the top 12 to advance in NASCAR’s playoffs. See the Chase Grid here.

The second race in The Chase comes this Sunday, September 25th with the running of the New England 300 on the “Magic Mile” of New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

By: Buck Stevens