Martin Truex Jr Wins the Go Bowling 400 for First Time at Kansas Speedway

Martin Truex Jr celebrates his win at the Go Bowling 400

Martin Truex Jr. won his first ever race at Kansas Speedway in the Go Bowling 400 race. This win was the second of the season and the ninth win of his career. He led for a race high 104 laps to take home his first checkered flag at the track.

“I can't even tell you,” Truex said. “It feels amazing to be here. It's been a long time coming to this racetrack for sure. We talked, I guess, on Friday about it. The close calls, the laps led, the heartbreaks that we've been through here. Definitely proud tonight to finally cross that checkered flag first and bring it home for the guys.”

Truex, who has a history at Kansas Speedway for not pushing through, showed great poise through the restarts, and eventually passed Ryan Blaney after the final restart and did not look back. Truex led 6 times for 104 laps and gained 5 more playoff points and 57 points in the win.

“You know, as a racer, you don't forget” Truex said. “You don't forget those days that ones got away or you screwed up and gave one away or anything like that. You never forget those things. They always stick with you.”

Brad Keselowski came in second place, after he rallied from two laps down. Keselowski currently sits in third place in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings. Keselowski did not lead during the race, and gained 41 points.

“Well, so much happened, I'm not sure I even know,” Keselowski said. “But we were really good all day and just never had a chance to show it. Every time we started to pass cars and cycle up to the front, we had some kind of issue, which was a real bummer to not be able to showcase the strength that we had.” Kevin Harvick finished in third place, and led once for 10 laps.

Aric Almirola crashes into the wreck between Danica Patrick and Joey Logano

The big story of the race was the red flag caution occurring at the end of the 200th lap. Joey Logano and Danica Patrick raced for 12th place, as Logano’s car jerked to the left causing Patrick's to crash into the boards. As Patrick's car caught in flames, Aric Almirola's car crashed into the wreck and caused NASCAR to stop the race. Almirola was forced to be extricated out of his car.

"Yeah, I'm OK," Logano said. "Just saying a lot of prayers for Aric right now. A lot of us took a hard hit. Something broke on my car. I don't know what it was. I noticed it as I was trying to go in (to Turn 1). I tried to back it off but you're going 215 (mph) and it's hard to check up. The car just took a big step sideways into the corner and I hooked Danica.

Kyle Larson, who finished in sixth place, continues to lead the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Standings with 475 points and 7 playoff points. Martin Truex Jr. is in second place with 431 points and 15 playoff points. Brad Keselowski is in third place with 408 points and 12 playoff points.

The next race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be the Monster Energy All Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.