Martin Truex Jr. blew past Joey Logano on the final restart and pulled away for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and 28th overall, taking the checkers on Sunday afternoon at the Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, host of November’s championship race in the sports top circuit.
The 40-year-old Truex struggled earlier this year, finishing 25th at Daytona. But he’s raced much better in recent weeks, finishing third at Homestead and sixth at Las Vegas last week.
The track southwest of Phoenix allowed about 20% of the grandstand to be filled. Phoenix was the site of the last “normal” race last March before COVID-19 shut down the sport for about two months.
NASCAR makes the long trip across the country for a race at Atlanta Motor Speedway next weekend. Kevin Harvick won at the track last season.
