Martin Truex Jr. has never earned back-to-back wins in his career, but on Saturday, the veteran driver came away with the checkered flag for the second consecutive NASCAR Playoff race.
He edged out Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones at the Federated Auto Parts 400 at the Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia.
"I don't even know what to say, I really don't," Truex told the NBC broadcast after the race. "I'm speechless.
"We kept plugging away at it, kept plugging away at it, as we always do. We just keep digging and we never quit. Next thing you know I’m catching (Kyle Busch) for the lead. I’m like, ‘Cool, here we go.' The sweep at Richmond, finally, is awesome."
"I feel like Danny Sullivan right now!"
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 22, 2019
It wasn't the Indy 500, but @MartinTruex_Jr will take a spin and win any way he can get it! @RichmondRaceway // @JoeGibbsRacing pic.twitter.com/MeJs8WWAUM
Truex, who led for 109 laps, had to rebound from a spin with 85 laps left in the race.
He spun out after contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. while leading and then restarted in third place. Truex eventually passed Kyle Busch, who led for 202 laps, with 26 to go.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. gets into the back of race leader Martin Truex Jr.!
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 22, 2019
Watch the #NASCARPlayoffs from @RichmondRaceway on NBCSN, or stream here: https://t.co/gOydUHFyv3 pic.twitter.com/DlktWiW4oP
The top 10 was rounded out by Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman, Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Daniel Suarez.
Jones, however, failed the postrace inspection, his crew chief, Chris Gayle, told SiriusXM Radio.
Chris Gayle, Crew Chief for @erik_jones has confirmed to @ClaireBLang on the SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Post-Race Show, that the number 20 team has failed Post-Race inspection. Stay tuned to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio for continuing coverage. The team was originally credited with 4th. pic.twitter.com/xNEMTJHPyc
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) September 22, 2019
Both Busch and Harvick were able to clinch spots in the second round on points.
NASCAR playoff points standings 2019
| Rank | Driver | Wins | Points |
| No. 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | 6 | 2,141 |
| No. 2 | Kevin Harvick | 3 | 2,120 |
| No. 3 | Kyle Busch | 4 | 2,117 |
| No. 4 | Brad Keselowski | 3 | 2,106 |
| No. 5 | Denny Hamlin | 4 | 2,105 |
| No. 6 | Joey Logano | 2 | 2,101 |
| No. 7 | Chase Elliott | 2 | 2,088 |
| No. 8 | Kyle Larson | 0 | 2,076 |
| No. 9 | Ryan Newman | 0 | 2,065 |
| No. 10 | Ryan Blaney | 0 | 2,059 |
| No. 11 | Aric Almirola | 0 | 2,054 |
| No. 12 | William Byron | 1 | 2,053 |
| No. 13 | Alex Bowman | 0 | 2,051 |
| No. 14 | Clint Bowyer | 0 | 2,049 |
| No. 15 | Kurt Busch | 1 | 2,039 |
| No. 16 | Erik Jones | 1 | 2,008 |
| No. 17 | Daniel Suarez | 0 | 700 |
| No. 18 | Jimmie Johnson | 0 | 666 |
| No. 19 | Paul Menard | 0 | 608 |
| No. 20 | Chris Buescher | 0 | 579 |
| No. 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | 0 | 529 |
| No. 22 | Austin Dillon | 0 | 525 |
| No. 23 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 0 | 522 |
| No. 24 | Ty Dillon | 0 | 473 |
| No. 25 | Daniel Hemric | 0 | 405 |
| No. 26 | Bubba Wallace | 0 | 390 |
| No. 27 | Ryan Preece | 0 | 371 |
| No. 28 | Michael McDowell | 0 | 353 |
| No. 29 | David Ragan | 0 | 318 |
| No. 30 | Corey LaJoie | 0 | 314 |
| No. 31 | Matt Tifft | 0 | 292 |
| No. 32 | Reed Sorenson | 0 | 91 |
| No. 33 | Quin Houff | 0 | 72 |
| No. 34 | Jamie McMurray | 0 | 19 |
| No. 35 | Austin Theriault | 0 | 15 |
| No. 36 | Andy Seuss | 0 | 9 |
| No. 37 | Stanton Barrett | 0 | 2 |
| No. 38 | Casey Mears | 0 | 1 |
How the NASCAR playoffs work:
At all three NASCAR national series, there are a number of eliminations that will take place as the playoffs progress. This will leave a crop of drivers for the series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where they will race “straight-up” for the title as the first of the four championship-eligible drivers to cross the finish line is crowned the champion.
Round-by-round
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
– 16 drivers, four rounds
– Playoffs begin at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
– Cutoff races: Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, Kansas Speedway, ISM Raceway at Phoenix
How drivers earn points:
– Win Stage 1 or Stage 2 in a race: 1 playoff point (point awarded per stage win)
– Win a race: 5 playoff points
– Win the regular-season championship: 15 playoff points
Second place in the final regular-season standings earns 10 playoff points, third place receives eight points, and the points awarded decline to one point for 10th (4th = 7 points, 5th = 6 points, etc.).
Championship-contending drivers can accumulate additional playoff points throughout the playoffs via stage and race wins and may use all the playoff points they earn, from both the regular season and the playoffs, to advance all the way up to the Championship 4.
Playoff points are added to a championship-contending driver’s reset points total at the start of every round of the Playoffs until they are eliminated from championship contention.
If a driver accumulates playoff points during the regular season but does not qualify for the playoffs, their playoff points are eliminated from the scoreboard.
At Homestead-Miami, playoff points are off the table and the Championship four drivers enter the “winner-take-all” race tied in the standings.
Cup playoff information provided by NASCAR .