3 takeaways from NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at Richmond Raceway

Martin Truex seemed set to cap the Monster Energy Cup Series regular season in fitting fashion by winning the Federated Auto Parts 400 Saturday night at Richmond Raceway. It would’ve been his fifth victory of the year and capped a dominant regular season where Truex led NASCAR’s top division in overall wins, stage wins, points, top-10 finishes, and laps led.

But when the checkered flag waved it was Kyle Larson celebrating, not Truex, who instead was left seething over a controversial caution that he felt cost him another win. The turn of events setup by Derrike Cope, who, down multiple laps, glanced off the Turn 4 wall with four laps remaining, prompting NASCAR to call for the yellow flag and send the race into a two-lap overtime shootout.

“I just think that it’s ridiculous that a guy could cause a caution with one lap to go as bad as he’s running and just riding around there basically just making laps,” Truex said. “It’s pretty dumb.”

Under the caution period before the race resumed, the leaders made pit stops with Larson beating Truex off pit road to gain the advantage on the subsequent restart. Larson did just that by quickly accelerating and pulling away, while Truex got bogged down in traffic and then crashed after contact with Denny Hamlin caused him to slam into the Turn 1 wall on the white flag lap.

Despite how the night ended, Truex still finished the regular season atop the points standings and will not only enter the postseason as the No. 1 seed, but has a 20-point buffer over second-place Larson. The margin is such that Truex is virtually guaranteed to advance out of the first and second rounds, and barring a complete collapse is well positioned to be among the four drivers vying for the Cup title in the one-race championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Who will join Truex in the Championship 4 is less certain, though Larson and Kyle Busch each look like solid bets. Larson closed the regular season by equaling Truex’s four wins and has a better average finish through 26 races (11.0 vs 11.4). And while Busch only owns two wins, he’s consistently been able to match Truex’s speed since late-spring and ranks second in stage wins and laps led.

The fourth spot is shaping up to be a battle among Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, and Brad Keselowski, all of whom had their moments during the season. Hamlin in particular has come on strong with two wins and five other top-five finishes over the past nine races. And, of course, seven-time and defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson cannot be discounted — even if he’s struggled for prolonged stretches.

No Cinderella win for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt admitted Friday it was going to be difficult to get the win he needed at Richmond to qualify for the playoffs. Hendrick Motorsports is amid a slump where the organization lacks the speed to compete against the Furniture Row and Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas and Kyle Larson’s Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, evident by Earnhardt not finishing better than 12th over the past 12 races.

Regardless of the uphill challenge, Earnhardt put forth his best performance in weeks. He gradually moved forward from his 21st starting position into the top 10 while running lap times comparable to Truex, who dominated for much of the evening. It created the possibility that with a break or two, Earnhardt could maybe pull off a win if he could get some track position.

Ultimately, Earnhardt could never get the track position he needed and he finished 13th after a late pit strategy call didn’t pan out. The result ensures NASCAR’s 14-time most popular driver won’t end his career by competing for a first-ever series championship, though he does have 10 races left to get a victory and snap a winless streak dating to November 2015.

Joey Logano comes up short

Joey Logano had advanced twice in the past three years to the championship round and he came into this season expected to again be a prominent player in the title fight. That hasn’t happened.

After a strong start, the Team Penske driver has cooled off considerably with only three top-10 finishes over the past 16 races. Adding to his woes, his lone victory on the season was marred when officials determined the No. 22 Ford had an illegal suspension, resulting in the victory being encumbered, meaning Logano didn’t get any of the additional benefits that come with winning a regular-season race,

Like Earnhardt, Logano came into the weekend facing a situation where his championship hopes hinged on leaving Richmond with the win. And similar to Earnhardt, Logano couldn’t deliver. He finished second to Larson, who pulled away on the overtime restart never giving Logano a chance to outrun him.

“Came up a little bit short overall,” Logano said. “Yeah, it stings a little bit.”

Matt Kenseth’s encounter with ambulance nearly costs him playoff spot

An ambulance going onto the track then stopping at the entrance to pit road where it caused a traffic jam should only occur in a bad comedy film, not an actual race that carries significant consequences.

Yet that was the reality Saturday night, with NASCAR extremely fortunate Matt Kenseth didn’t miss the playoffs because the wayward ambulance created a pileup that culminated in a punctured radiator on the No. 20 car. Had that happened, it would’ve been another black eye for a sanctioning body in a season full of officiating controversies and penalties, and all but forced officials to make an exemption and add a 17th driver to the playoffs.

To his credit, Kenseth handled the situation admirably. He didn’t rant or rave, which he would’ve been justified in doing, instead downplaying the incident, saying he had all season to lock himself into the playoffs with one race not the singular reason to blame. And then, the former champion put a bow on the peculiar night with the perfect tweet as he attempted to leave the track.