Truex led 152 of the 274 laps in the Quaker State 400, and won the first two stages of the race. He was so far out in front of the field much of the night that it was clear it would take a fluke for someone else to win the event.

That fluke almost happened. Just as Truex was set to take the white flag, a caution came out for Kurt Busch’s mechanical problem. That set up overtime, and the strategy played out like this: crew chief Cole Pearn rolled the dice and left Truex and the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota out on the track, while all the other leaders pitted for fresher, cooler — and faster — tires.

Even though Truex’s car had been a beast throughout the race, many thought he’d be a sitting duck on the restart.

“I thought we were dead,” Truex told NBCSN afterward. “I thought we were done. It’s just completely unbelievable.”

But the gamble worked. Truex quickly pulled away on the restart and held on for his 10th career NASCAR Cup victory and his third this season. The race finished under caution because of a multicar crash behind the lead pack.

“I can’t say enough about him,” Truex said about Pearn.

Kyle Larson finished second, capping a remarkable night that saw him start at the rear of the field, race his way to third, then get sent to the back of the pack because of a speeding penalty on pit road.

Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five. Saturday afternoon, Busch had won the rain-delayed Alsco 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race.

As noted earlier, Truex won the first two stages of the event, giving him a NASCAR Cup-series leading 13 stage wins this season. How impressive is that? Kyle Busch has the second-most stage wins, with four.

Still, despite the dominating performance, Truex’s win came down to that pit-strategy gamble, and his ability to get a fast restart in overtime. He’d had a feeling even as he led the way throughout the night that his win wouldn’t come easy.

“I worried every lap waiting for a caution. Fortunately, I was able to hold them off,” he said.

Results from the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Quaker State 400 at Kentucky1. Martin Truex Jr.2. Kyle Larson3. Chase Elliott4. Denny Hamlin5. Kyle Busch6. Erik Jones7. Jamie McMurray8. Joey Logano9. Kevin Harvick10. Ryan Blaney11. Darrell Wallace Jr.12. Dale Earnhardt Jr.13. Clint Bowyer14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.15. Danica Patrick16. Chris Buescher17. Matt Kenseth18. Daniel Suarez19. Austin Dillon20. AJ Allmendinger21. Paul Menard22. Ryan Newman23. Michael McDowell24. David Ragan25. Matt DiBenedetto26. Landon Cassill27. Ryan Sieg28. Reed Sorenson29. Jeffrey Earnhardt30. Kurt Busch31. Timmy Hill32. B.J McLeod33. Ty Dillon34. Cole Whitt35. Gray Gaulding36. Joey Gase37. Trevor Bayne38. Kasey Kahne39. Brad Keselowski40. Jimmie Johnson

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