By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
Martin Truex Jr. won the 2019 First Data 500 on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. With the win, Truex Jr. has clinched a spot in the final four for the third straight year.
The Mayetta, New Jersey native completed the race in three hours and 29 minutes. He won the race by .373 seconds over his nearest competitor.
“Just really happy about it, obviously,” Truex Jr. said. “Been trying to work on getting a Martinsville win for a long time. It’s a tough track. It’s one that, you know, everybody I think wants to win at, the history here, and it’s such a big part of NASCAR. Really proud of everybody on our team for what they did and the car they brought, the pit stops today were incredible and the guys did a great job.
“So just all around a great day. To lead that many laps is pretty incredible here. Big day, big win, and I think Homestead is the bonus. So here we go, we’ll see if we can win another championship.”
Truex Jr. won his seventh race of the 2019 season, including his very first Cup win at Martinsville. This is the second-most wins he has had in a season, as he had a career-best eight wins in 2017.
The Auto Owners Insurance driver dominated the event. He led 464 of the 500 laps.
William Byron, driving the Liberty University ride for Rick Hendrick, finished second. Brad Keselowski, driving the Alliance Truck Parts entry for Roger Penske, finished third.
Besides Truex Jr.’s 464 laps led, Denny Hamlin, driving the FedEx Freight entry for Joe Gibbs Racing, led 30 laps. Kyle Larson, driving the Clover entry for Chip Ganassi Racing, also led six laps.
Five drivers did not complete the race. Reed Sorenson, driving the VIPRacingExperience.com entry for Jay Robinson, departed the race on lap 452 due to a rear gear problem.
Timmy Hilly, driving the Spire Motorsports entry, left the race on lap 450 due to a transmission problem. Clint Bowyer, driving the BlueDEF entry for Stewart Haas Racing, left following a track bar problem on lap 449.
Aric Almirola, driving the Smithfield entry for Stewart Haas Racing, crashed on lap 363. Jimmie Johnson, driving the Ally entry for Hendrick Motorsports, also crashed on lap 361.
