This article is part of our NASCAR Barometer series.
Martin Truex Jr. overcame a frustrating end to the regular season at Richmond Raceway to start the 2017 playoffs on the best possible foot. He was behind early after a speeding penalty, but recovered to race to the front and drive away to a valuable playoff win that guarantees advancement to the next round of championship eliminations. The victory is the fifth of the season for the Furniture Row Racing driver, and even further cements his status as the favorite to capture the 2017 title.
Mistakes and penalties on pit road were a big factor in Sunday's race. Both Kyle Busch and Truex were behind the field as a result of those issues, and teams will need to find a way to eradicate them in future playoff rounds. Grim prospects await those drivers who couldn't overcome the missteps they made on Sunday, and the three-race elimination format of the playoffs only serves to ratchet up the pressure. New Hampshire awaits the field this week, as 15 championship contenders seek to join Truex in the next playoff round by winning.
UPGRADE
Martin Truex Jr. – Truex was penalized for speeding on pit road, which put him behind the leaders early on Sunday. He fell deep down the running order following the issue, but worked his way back up to the top five early in the third stage. By the time the race was over, he was cruising away in the lead. He became the first to advance to the second round
Martin Truex Jr. overcame a frustrating end to the regular season at Richmond Raceway to start the 2017 playoffs on the best possible foot. He was behind early after a speeding penalty, but recovered to race to the front and drive away to a valuable playoff win that guarantees advancement to the next round of championship eliminations. The victory is the fifth of the season for the Furniture Row Racing driver, and even further cements his status as the favorite to capture the 2017 title.
Mistakes and penalties on pit road were a big factor in Sunday's race. Both Kyle Busch and Truex were behind the field as a result of those issues, and teams will need to find a way to eradicate them in future playoff rounds. Grim prospects await those drivers who couldn't overcome the missteps they made on Sunday, and the three-race elimination format of the playoffs only serves to ratchet up the pressure. New Hampshire awaits the field this week, as 15 championship contenders seek to join Truex in the next playoff round by winning.
UPGRADE
Martin Truex Jr. – Truex was penalized for speeding on pit road, which put him behind the leaders early on Sunday. He fell deep down the running order following the issue, but worked his way back up to the top five early in the third stage. By the time the race was over, he was cruising away in the lead. He became the first to advance to the second round of the playoffs by winning on Sunday, and he leaves Chicago with a truckload of confidence after a rough end to the regular season in Richmond. Truex started from pole and finished third in New Hampshire earlier this season, and has led more than 100 laps in each of the last three races at the track.
Chase Elliott – After a perfect restart, Elliott led more than 30 laps to win the second stage of Sunday's race in Chicago. It was his third stage victory of the season, and earned him valuable playoff points. He did his championship charge another favor when he raced hard to come home with the runner-up finish behind Truex, too. The afternoon could only have been better for Elliott if he had been the one celebrating in pit lane. However, he still has nine races remaining to get his elusive first series win in 2017. Next on that list is New Hampshire, and the Hendrick Motorsports driver scored his best finish at that track earlier this season when he started and finished 11th.
Kevin Harvick – Harvick looked like the driver fantasy players have come to appreciate Sunday afternoon. He was stationed firmly inside the top five throughout the first two stages and took advantage of an early restart to take the lead in the third. That was where he ended the afternoon, which is a great result as the team builds to advance further in the championship playoffs. Next up is New Hampshire, where Harvick has two wins from 33 career starts, including the fall race last season. He finished fifth there earlier this year, which was his third consecutive top-five at the oval. The team is continuing to improve, which could make them top contenders in Miami.
Kyle Larson – Larson ran a quietly confident race Sunday at Chicagoland. The effort wasn't flashy, but it was a consistent run inside the top-10 throughout the race distance. Runs like that should be enough to see him through the early rounds of the playoffs and keep him within striking distance of potential wins. The team has truly rediscovered their strengths just in time for the start of the playoffs and now the only question is whether he can beat Truex of Kyle Busch. Larson has three top-fives and four top-10s from seven career New Hampshire starts, including a runner-up in the spring, and another race like last week could give him one foot into the next round of championship eliminations.
Jamie McMurray – An early spin in the final stage on Sunday put McMurray at the back of the field, but luckily he didn't make contact with anything and was quickly back inside the top 15. By the time the race was over, he had found his way into the top 10 with a small margin in points to put him above the cutoff line with two races remaining in the first round of the playoffs. The team has shown promise this season and did well to make it into the playoffs. To continue, they need to have clean races with no mistakes, and even then they likely will have to find a way to win, which McMurray has never done at New Hampshire.
DOWNGRADE
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Stenhouse dug himself a big hole early in Sunday's start to the layoffs and never fully climbed out of it. He was running outside of the top 12 in the playoff standings when he brushed the outside wall, forcing him to come to pit road for an unscheduled stop. Upon entering pit road he then suffered a pit entry penalty. It was a disaster for the championship fight underdog, andit only got worse when a second penalty for speeding was issued with less than 50 laps remaining. Stenhouse has two top-10 finishes at New Hampshire and finished 14th there earlier this season. He will need much better than that to advance in the playoffs.
Erik Jones – Jones spun and went for a slide with less than 70 laps remaining in Sunday's race at Chicagoland, leaving little time to mount a recovery. Teammate Truex had a three-second lead at the time, and the caution period wiped out that advantage. He missed making the playoff field two weeks ago at Richmond, and then stumbled again just one week later. This week, he makes a return visit to New Hampshire where he crashed and was classified 39th in the spring. As he moves to Joe Gibbs Racing next season, Furniture Row Racing announced they would revert to a single-car organization with Truex carrying the weight. The rookie would love to give the downsizing team a victory before moving on.
Kyle Busch – Busch darted to the lead from pole position in Sunday's opening round of the playoffs and led all but two laps of the first stage to grab the segment victory. A loose wheel and a pit penalty put him well behind in the second segment, however. Instead of fighting for the lead, he found himself fighting to get back onto the lead lap. The circumstances that would give him that lap back never transpired, and that started his playoff charge on the wrong foot. Busch has two wins from his 25 career starts at New Hampshire. He finished 12th there earlier this season in one of just two finishes outside of the top 10 at the track since 2012.
Kurt Busch – The first round of the playoffs was a disaster for Busch after a string of top-five finishes closed out his regular season on a high. He was another victim of speeding on pit road, and that mistake cost him dearly as he fell multiple laps behind the leaders. With less than 10 laps remaining, he found himself circling the track still two laps behind, which simply isn't good enough to get the job done in a playoff field as competitive as it currently is. He now needs a strong outing in New Hampshire, a track where he has three career wins, eight top-fives and 14 top-10s. This team has been racing their best equipment the past few races, but mistakes will negate any progress.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Jimmie Johnson – When the playoffs begin, Johnson and team find a way to get to the top of the order. For much of Sunday's race at Chicagoland he was just another name running outside of the top 15. By the time the distance was complete Johnson was sitting in eighth place. Those who ignore Johnson in these final 10 most-important races of the season will do so at their peril. Despite not having the most competitive car, the team and driver found a way to outperform expectations. With Johnson finishing Chicago like he did on Sunday, fantasy owners should be excited for his potential in New Hampshire where he has three wins and an average finish of 10.5.
