DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Martin Truex Jr. got nervous in a hurry near the end of his dominating drive at Darlington Raceway.
Barely pushed much of Sunday's race, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver suddenly saw Kyle Larson catching up in the closing laps.
Truex, though, called on his steady demeanor and track focus to pull away for his third NASCAR Cup Series victory this season.
Not that it was easy.
When Truex noticed Larson right behind him inside of 30 laps left, he said he thought, "Oh, man, he's right behind me."
"Your heart rate goes up," he continued, "Your anxiety goes up."
Very quickly, Truex was back to his steady, powerhouse driving at the track "Too Tough to Tame."
"Hopefully, we can keep this rolling," Truex said.
Truex's car owner, Joe Gibbs, told him afterward that Larson gave the three-time Super Bowl-winning coach a scare.
"Yeah, he scared me too," Truex told him.
The victory gave Truex some payback at Darlington from the last time here in September, when he led 196 laps, yet finished 22nd after tangling for the lead late with Chase Elliott.
This time, Truex made sure he had no issues by running out front -- often holding a 10-second lead on the field -- to win for the second time at the track.
Truex led 248 of the 293 laps for his 30th career victory in NASCAR's top series. He is the only driver with multiple wins over the year's first 12 races.
"It's fun when you're out front," Truex said. "You're always just mindful on staying focused on what you're doing."
No one was more focused at Darlington than Truex.
He took control midway through the first of three stages, moving in front on a restart and settling in for a long ride up front. Truex led the final 21 laps to take the first stage and then the last 36, as he collected the second-stage win by some 14 seconds over his JGR teammate Kyle Busch.
Truex broke out when racing resumed for the final stage and easily managed a couple of rounds of green-flag pits stops to stay ahead.
Larson was second, with Busch third. William Byron was fourth, and Denny Hamlin, who came in as the NASCAR points' leader, was fifth.
Larson charged hard to catch up, even using a dramatic sliding pass between Ryan Newman and Tyler Reddick to keep chasing the lead.
"Glad I didn't wreck there," Larson said with a smile.
WHO'S HOT
Busch followed up his first win of the season at Kansas last week with a solid third place at Darlington. It was Busch's sixth top-10 finish in his past seven races here. Busch's lone victory at Darlington came in 2008.
WHO'S NOT
Kurt Busch seemed like he was headed for big things at Darlington when he gave the track one of most iconic moments, finishing second here in 2003 to Ricky Craven in a side-by-side duel he lost by 0.002 seconds. But Busch hasn't come that close to a Darlington victory in 22 races since. His latest start ended in flames after he hit the inside wall and the liquid his car spewed caught on fire. "It's been a rough year, and this just adds to it," said the Chip Ganassi Racing driver, who was unhurt in the incident.
HEY, ISN'T THAT ... ?
There were a handful of NASCAR guests and fans allowed to roam the garage area, the first time that has been permitted in the sport since stock car racing was shut down in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Kevin Harvick won at Darlington last May without fans in the facility and with about 8,000 or so in the stands. There were about double that amount here on Sunday, and Darlington officials said they'll open the grandstands to all who want to come for the Southern 500 on Sept. 5.
UP NEXT
NASCAR heads to Dover International Speedway for another triple-header weekend. The Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series will take place before the Cup Series race at the Monster Mile. Harvick won the Cup Series event there in 2020, part of his season-best nine victories.
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May 10, 2021 at 06:33AM
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Martin Truex Jr. dominates at Darlington for third NASCAR Cup Series win of season - ESPN
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