Martin Truex Jr. finished what he started last spring at Kansas Speedway, dominating the Go Bowling 400, but this time it ended with a win.
Truex led 172 laps last season at Kansas in May only to fall short with a tire issue. But this year, Truex dominated several restarts late, including in overtime to win in a race marred by a fiery wreck involving Aric Almirola, who had to be cut from his car and airlifted to a local hospital.
Erik Jones brought out the caution for the third time with just under 10 laps remaining, setting up a shootout finish as the field reset with five laps remaining. On the restart, Denny Hamlin clipped Kurt Busch, who hit Jimmie Johnson for the second time of the night setting up the green-white-checkered finish.
Truex, who led 104 laps on the night, out-drove Ryan Blaney and Kevin Harvick on the final restart but it was Brad Keselowski who finished second. Harvick finished third followed by Blaney, Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson.
Safety crews at Kansas Speedway had to peel back the front windshield of Almirola's car and help him from his vehicle after a fiery wreck with Joey Logano and Danica Patrick with just under 70 laps remaining.
Almirola was conscious and speaking with safety crews as he was placed on a backboard and taken via helicopter to a local hospital for further evaluation. The extent of his injuries are not yet known.
Jimmie Johnson was among 12 drivers who will start at the rear of the field in Saturday night's race after their cars failed to pass tech prior to the end of the first round of qualifying at the 1.5-mile track on Friday. Seeking his fourth win in six races at Kansas, Johnson had to start 29th after the inspection issues and ran into more troubles in the race. The No. 48 driver had a pit road penalty, made contact with Kurt Busch twice and also suffered a flat tire during the race. He was in place for a top-10 finish but was 24th after spinning late.
Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott also had issues early in the race. Elliott collided with Michael McDowell on Lap 52 during a stop on pit road. Elliott was attempting to leave his pit stall while McDowell was entering his. The No. 24 was unable to overcome heavy damage to the right-front en route to a 29th place finish.
Unofficial results from the Go Bowling 400:
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Brad Keselowski
- Kevin Harvick
- Ryan Blaney
- Kyle Busch
- Kyle Larson
- Daniel Suarez
- Jamie McMurray
- Clint Bowyer
- Trevor Bayne
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Matt Kenseth
- Michael McDowell
- Ty Dillon
- Kasey Kahne
- Austin Dillon
- David Ragan
- Chris Buescher
- Kurt Busch
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Landon Cassill
- Erik Jones
- Denny Hamlin
- Jimmie Johnson
- Reed Sorenson
- Cole Whitt
- Corey LaJoie
- Timmy Hill
- Chase Elliott
- AJ Allmendinger
- Carl Long
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Jeffrey Earnhardt
- Gray Gaulding
- Paul Menard
- Danica Patrick
- Joey Logano
- Aric Almirola
- Derrike Cope
- Ryan Newman
Stage 1 winner: Kyle Busch
Stage 2 winner: Blaney