NASCAR Barometer: Truex Wins in Kansas

Martin Truex Jr. captured his second win on a 1.5-mile oval this season, taking the checkered flag Saturday night in Kansas. The No. 78 team was one of the fastest machines through the weekend but really came alive in the second half of the race. Truex leveraged near perfect handling to fend off all challengers and jump ahead on late restarts to consolidate his lead and win. This second victory puts him second in championship points behind Kyle Larson and gives him momentum when he returns to the scene of his record-setting domination last year.

Saturday's race was one of attrition where many of potentially top contenders stumbled. A handful of those quick drivers returned to the front of the field by the finish but couldn't overcome the relatively few teams that didn't suffer the same trouble. Truex was clearly the fastest car at the end of the race, but Ryan Blaney was his match for much of the evening. Everyone else will be hoping to regain some ground as they begin two weeks of racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Next week's All-Star race awards money and bragging rights but many will be looking ahead to Memorial Day weekend's Coca-Cola 600 where a win would grant them entry to the season-ending playoffs.

UPGRADE

Martin Truex Jr. – Truex was expected to be one of the fastest cars Saturday night and he delivered on those expectations. He jumped out to the lead in the second segment and then finished it lodged inside the top five before leading again in the final portions of the race. His team gave him the fastest car in the final miles, which enabled him to overcome the few remaining obstacles that stood in between him and Victory Lane. He thoroughly dominated last year's Coca Cola 600, leading all but eight of the 400 laps on offer, and has been one of the best on the 1.5-mile ovals this season, too.

Ryan Blaney – Blaney started his Kansas weekend on a high note by winning the first pole of his Cup career and then leveraging his pit selection to earn the track position that helped him win the second segment of the race. Truex proved to be too much for Blaney to handle in the final miles but his fourth-place finish was good for his effort and is his second top-five finish of the season. Unfortunately, Charlotte hasn't been the best venue for him. In four career tries he has a best finish of 14th, which came in the only race at the circuit where he finished on the lead lap. Fantasy players should still expect a top-10, however.

Kyle Busch – Busch picked up right where he left off after winning for the first time in the Cup series at Kansas last season. The No. 18 used early pit stops to move into contention to take the lead in the first segment of Saturday's race and did just that to capture the stage win. He was never far from the lead after that and ended the night in fifth position. It was his second consecutive top-five and reinforces the belief that his maiden 2017 win will arrive shortly. Kyle has never won a Cup race at Charlotte, however. He crashed out of last year's 600-mile race but should be considered a threat as the series embarks on its traditional May schedule.

Jimmie Johnson – The No. 48 team made Saturday hard on themselves. First, the team wasn't able to qualify. Then, a penalty on pit road followed by a cut tire put Johnson behind during the race. The tire issue put him a lap behind the leaders but a caution flag limited the damage. The team worked their way back onto the lead lap and into the top 10 but was left wondering what might have been when contact on a restart knocked him out of contention again. Were it not for the early hole they dug for themselves they may have been able to grab another victory, however. He has eight wins from 31 career starts at Charlotte, and his most recent one was the 2016 fall race where he led 155 laps.

Brad Keselowski – An otherwise promising night almost went to waste in the second segment for Keselowski when a problem at the rear of his car forced him to pit under green. He also had a penalty levied against him when he entered for that stop, and the compounded issues put him two laps behind the leaders. Luckily, that happened early enough in the race to allow him and the team to rebound back to the lead lap. The final restarts gave him the opportunity to make big passes to capture a runner-up finish, his fourth top-10 in the last five races. Keselowski has finished 10th or better in six of the last seven Charlotte races, and his current form should make him one of the early favorites.

DOWNGRADE

Chase Elliott – Contact on pit road deflated a two-tire stop for Elliott. The young driver was quick coming out of his pit under yellow and collided with Michael McDowell as he entered his pit box. The damage dropped Elliott to the back of the field as he visited pit road numerous times for repairs and kept him well behind the competition for the rest of the race distance. His 29th-place finish was his third consecutive finish outside of the top 20 and leaves him with little momentum heading into the All-Star race. He led 103 laps at Charlotte last fall before crashing but has a best finish of eighth in last year's 600-mile race. His All-Star weekend performance will be a good indication of potential for the following week.

Erik Jones – The fifth caution of Saturday's race came when Jones lost control and spun. He didn't make contact with anything but lost valuable track position. Afterward, he worked his back toward the top 10 only to suffer the same fate again. Losing track position was too much to overcome again, however. Even a late gamble to gain track position couldn't keep him in contention, and his bad luck still wasn't over. He spun through the grass one more time before the finish for good measure and finished the frustrating night 22nd. Still, Jones is proving he has the speed to win but needs to eliminate the mistakes that are holding him back. He failed to win at Charlotte in four tries in the Xfinity series but did snag two top-fives.

Joey Logano – Logano had a right-front wheel issue that caused him to turn left into Danica Patrick, sparking a huge crash that ultimately collected Aric Almirola. All three drivers were done for the night and what started as high expectations for Logano ended on the back of a wrecker. He leaves Kansas still searching for the win that will earn him a spot in the playoffs despite crossing the line first in Richmond. Crew chief Todd Gordon will return for Charlotte, which should help the team's effort. Logano won at Charlotte in the fall of 2015 and has led at least one lap in each of the last four races at the track.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. – For once Earnhardt started a weekend quickly, placing himself sixth in the first practice of the weekend. It all went south when the team was one of many that couldn't get through inspection and wasn't able to qualify. The situation got even worse when he battled a vibration throughout Saturday's race, too. He spent much of the night trying to overcome the problems plaguing him and only managed to finish 20th. It should have been a better night for him, but he's now on a streak of four consecutive races without a top-15 finish. Not much is going well for him in his final season, but he has two weeks at Charlotte to turn things around.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Daniel Suarez – Suarez had one of the best races of his young Cup career Saturday in Kansas. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver dealt with a loose machine throughout the evening, but made adjustments that allowed him to work his way into the top 10 in the final laps. It was a mature performance from the Xfinity champion, and is one that will help give him the experience he needs to know how to succeed in these long races. In four Charlotte Xfinity races Suarez has a worst finish of 12th, which could indicate he's in store for another good week on a 1.5-mile oval.