Truex becomes the first multi-time winner of 2021
There had been no repeat winners in the first seven NASCAR Cup Series races of 2021, which is a streak that Martin Truex Jr. ended Sunday with his win in the Blue Emu Maximum Relief 500 at Martinsville.
Truex passed Denny Hamlin for the lead with 16 laps to go to earn his second win of 2021 after eight races so far. Truex led only 20 of 500 laps, in contrast to Hamlin who led 276 laps and finished third after Chase Elliott passed him with four laps to go.
Truex’s win ends a streak of seven different winners in the first seven races, which was the most since 2014 when the streak happened then.
2021 is also Truex’s fifth multi-win season and his first since 2019. Truex’s first multi-win season was 2016, which was the first of four consecutive multi-win seasons.
Truex’s win in the Blue Emu 500 is also his 29th career Cup victory, which pads his 28th place position on the all-time Cup wins list. Truex is one win ahead of Carl Edwards (28) and three wins behind Dale Jarrett (32).
Truex has now won three of the last four Martinsville races and has won two of the last three races at Richmond, which is where the NASCAR Cup Series will race at next on April 18 (2:30 p.m. ET; TV: FOX, Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Truex sits second in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings, 76 points behind points leader Denny Hamlin heading into Richmond.
SOURCES:
NASCAR
Racing-Reference.Info
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com