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Martin Truex Jr. Dominates At Darlington

Martin Truex Jr. got nervous in a hurry near the end of his dominating drive at Darlington Raceway.

Barely pushed much of the race, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver suddenly saw Kyle Larson catching up in the closing laps.

AUTO: MAY 26 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series - Coca-Cola 600
CHARLOTTE, NC - MAY 26: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr. (19) runs through turn one during the Monster Energy Coca Cola 600 on May 26, 2019 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord,NC. (Photo by Dannie Walls/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Truex, though, called on his steady demeanor and track focus to pull away for his third NASCAR Cup Series victory this season.

Not that it was easy.

When Truex noticed Larson right behind him inside of 30 laps left, he thought, "Oh, man, he's right behind me.

"You're heart rate goes up," he continued, "You're anxiety goes up."

Very quickly, Truex was back to his steady, powerhouse driving at the track "Too Tough To Tame."

AUTO: MAR 17 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series - Auto Club 400
FONTANA, CA - MARCH 17: Martin Truex Jr (19) Bass Pro Shops Toyota heading for drivers meeting at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series - Auto Club 400 on March 17, 2019 at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. (Photo by Lyle Setter/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

"Hopefully, we can keep this rolling," Truex said.

Truex's owner, Joe Gibbs, told him after that Larson gave the three-time Super Bowl winning coach a scare. "Yeah, he scared me, too," Truex told him.

The victory gave Truex some payback at Darlington from the last time here last September, when he led 196 laps, yet finished 22nd after tangling for the lead late with Chase Elliott.

This time, Truex made sure he had no issues by running out front — often holding a 10-second lead on the field — to win for the second time at the track "Too Tough To Tame."

AUTO: SEP 02 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Race - Bojangles Southern 500
DARLINGTON, SC - SEPTEMBER 02: Joey Logano, Team Penske, Ford Fusion Pennzoil (22) during the running of the 69th annual Bojangles Southern 500 on Sunday September 2, 2018 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington South Carolina (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Truex led 248 of the 293 laps for his 30th career victory in NASCAR's top series. He's the only driver with multiple wins over the year's first 12 races.

"It's fun when you're out front," Truex said. "You're always just mindful on staying focused on what you're doing."

No one was more focused at Darlington than Truex.

He took control midway through the first of three stages, moving in front on a restart and settling in for a long ride up front. Truex led the final 21 laps to take the first stage, then the last 36 as he collected the second stage win by some 14 seconds over his JGR teammate Kyle Busch.

AUTO: MAY 06 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series - Gander RV 400
DOVER, DE - MAY 06: Martin Truex Jr. driver of the #19 SiriusXM Toyota races into turn 1 during the Gander RV 400 on May 06, 2019, at Dover International Speedway in Dover, DE. (Photo by David Hahn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Truex broke out when racing resumed for the final stage and easily managed a couple of rounds of green-flag pits stops to stay ahead.

Larson was second with Truex's teammate, Kyle Busch, third. William Byron was fourth and Denny Hamlin, who came in as the NASCAR points' leader, was fifth.

Larson charged hard to catch up, even using a dramatic sliding pass between Ryan Newman and Tyler Reddick to keep chasing the lead.

AUTO: FEB 15 NASCAR Cup Series - DAYTONA 500
DAYTONA, FL - FEBRUARY 15: Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Chip Ganassi Racing Credit One Bank Chevrolet Camaro, during final practice for the Daytona 500 on February 15, 2020 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fl. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

"Glad I didn't wreck there," Larson said with a smile.

WHO'S HOT

Kyle Busch followed up his first win of the season at Kansas last week with a solid third place at Darlington. It was Busch's sixth top 10 finish in his last seven races here. Busch's lone victory at Darlington came in 2008.

WHO'S NOT

Kurt Busch seemed like he was headed for big things at Darlington when he gave the track one of most iconic moments, finishing second here in 2003 to Ricky Craven in a side-by-side duel where he lost by 0.002 seconds. But Busch hasn't come that close to a Darlington victory in 22 races since. His latest start ended in flames after he hit the inside wall and the liquid his car spewed caught on fire. "It's been a rough year and this just adds to it," said the Chip Ganassi Racing driver, who was unhurt in the incident.

HEY, ISN'T THAT ...?

There were a handful of NASCAR guests and fans allowed to roam the garage area, the first time that's been allowed in the sport since the coronavirus shut down stock-car racing in March 2020. Kevin Harvick won at Darlington last May without fans in the facility last May. There were about 8,000 or so fans in the stands. There were about double that amount here Sunday and Darlington officials said they'll open the grandstands to all who want to come for the Southern 500 on Sept. 5.

UP NEXT

NASCAR heads to Dover International Speedway for another triple-header weekend where the Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series will take place before the Cup Series race at the Monster Mile. Kevin Harvick won the Cup Series event there in 2020, part of his season best nine victories.

© 2021 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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