NASCAR Charlotte 2017 results: Martin Truex Jr. wins Bank of America 500, plus full finishing order

It wasn’t a typical performance for Martin Truex Jr. but when the checkered flag waved Sunday there he stood in victory lane after winning the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Truex started 16th after uncharacteristically struggling in qualifying and during much of the early going didn’t appear he would be in position to win as Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin dominated. Gradually, Truex’s Furniture Row Racing team improved the No. 78 Toyota and by the end of Stage 2 he was up to fourth. During the third stage he asserted himself, leading 91 laps then withstanding two late restarts to pull away and win his Monster Energy Cup Series-best sixth race of the season.

“Unbelievable win. Just a total team effort,” Truex said. “You dream about days like today. I don’t know if we had the best car, but we damn sure go it in victory lane.”

Chase Elliott finished second for the third time in four playoff races. The second-year driver is still seeking his first Cup win in 71 series starts.

Harvick, Hamlin and Jamie McMurray completed the top five. Rounding out the top 10 were rookie Daniel Suarez, defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Blaney, Kasey Kahne and Kyle Larson.

Larson had one of the faster cars all afternoon, but pit road miscues cost him track position throughout the afternoon. But the Chip Ganassi Racing driver rallied after each gaffe and was running in the top five with less than 10 laps remaining when Kurt Busch spun in Turn 2 and clipped the rear of Larson’s Chevrolet.

Although his car was smoking, Larson nursed it to record his fifth consecutive top 10 finish. He ranks second in points overall, 29 points above the provisional cut off to transfer to the semi-final bracket with two races left in the second round.

“I felt like we’ve been better than (Truex) the past two weeks,” Larson said. “Last week was probably the first time in a long time he hasn’t been the most dominant. And then, he definitely wasn’t dominant today. I felt like I had a car to win. I made a mistake on pit road early. We rebounded from that. And then we had a costly mistake late and somewhat rebounded, but then those last two restarts didn’t go my way.”

Championship contender Busch endured a trying afternoon, hitting the wall multiple times and laboring to a 29th-place finish. Afterward, he required medical attention after collapsing when got he out of his car.

Busch laid on the ground for several minutes before walking to an awaiting ambulance where he was transported to the infield care center for further treatment and eventually released. He said there was excessive heat inside the cockpit caused by the damage to the car.

“After I first tore (the car) up, it was just a handful from there,” Busch said. “Literally, as soon as I did it, just coasting around under caution I could feel it being about 50 degrees hotter inside the car. It just got so hot that you felt like you were going to puke.”

Matt Kenseth (-1 point), Brad Keselowski (-2), Blaney (-5) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-10) are the four drivers below the provisional cut line entering next Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway. A win by any of the 12 title-eligible drivers automatically advances them to the subsequent round.