Martin Truex Jr. dominates at Dover for his fourth win of the season

Martin Truex Jr. further established himself as championship favorite by dominating the Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover International Speedway.
Already locked into the Round of 12 following a victory in the Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway, Truex picked up his second win of in the first round after leading 187 of 400 laps Sunday afternoon. The victory is the second at Dover for Truex, a New Jersey native, who earned his first career win at his home track in June of 2007.
It is also his seventh career win and fourth of the season. Truex finished first, seventh, and first in the Chase’s first three races while leading a total of 360 laps.
“We’re not messing around, I guess,” Truex told NBC Sports of his first round performance. “I don’t know. What else can you say? We are here to get it done and golly, the best bunch of guys you could ever ask for and just amazing to drive their racecars and do what we’re able to do. I’m just ecstatic.”
MORE: Results and statistics from the Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover
MORE: Martin Truex Jr. takes point lead after Dover win
Truex took control of the race after Jimmie Johnson, who led 90 laps, was penalized for having too many crew members over the wall during a round of green flag pit stops on Lap 280. Johnson had been leading at the time but would finish seventh, the first car one lap down.
The No. 78 of Truex then took the lead for the final time on Lap 374 after the race’s final round of pit stops. His margin of victory was seven seconds over Toyota teammate, Kyle Busch.
The top five were Truex, Busch, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, and Matt Kenseth. The first four drivers eliminated from the Chase were Tony Stewart, Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, and Chris Buescher.
HOW TRUEX WON: Truex cycled to the race lead by seven seconds with 26 laps to go following the final round of pit stops.
WHO ELSE HAD A GOOD RACE: Chase Elliott earned his second top-five finish in the Chase with a third-place run … Team Penske put both cars in the top-10 with pole-sitter Brad Keselowski finishing fourth and Joey Logano finishing sixth … Jimmie Johnson recovered from a pit road penalty to finish seventh … Jeff Gordon earned his first top-10 finish in the No. 88 car with a 10th-place effort.
WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Kyle Larson finished 25th, six laps down after losing power in his Chevrolet, being issued a pit road penalty, and hitting the wall … Kevin Harvick broke a track bar mount and finished 37th … Ryan Blaney blew a tire and finished 38th … Jamie McMurray blew an engine and finished last, 40th.
NOTABLE: With his fourth win at Dover, Truex is now tied with Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch for the most in the series. Dover is also the first track where Truex has scored multiple race wins. Truex has also now led more laps in the last six races (588) than each of his prior seasons entering 2016.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It feels good. Now it’s time to knock some more of these guys out because we’ve got this opportunity and I’m going to say we’re going to be the underdog in this next round, so let’s go do it.” — Austin Dillon on advancing to the Round of 12 in the Chase.
WHAT’S NEXT: The Round of 12 begins at Charlotte Motor Speedway with the Bank of America 500 on Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.

WATCH: LIVE POST-RACE INSPECTION ON TUESDAY

NASCAR.com will live stream post-race inspection Tuesday from 8-11:30 a.m. ET at the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina.

Tune in for a three-hour view of the inspection floor of the 61,000-square-foot shop, bringing you behind the scenes as NASCAR officials tear down and inspect Sprint Cup Series vehicles following Sunday's Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover International Speedway.

The cars selected for further evaluation at the R&D Center this week are:

-- The No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota of race winner Martin Truex Jr.
-- The No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of second-place finisher Kyle Busch.
-- The No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick.
-- The No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet of Tony Stewart
-- The No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of Austin Dillon.

For more details about the inspection process, click here.

FOUR TEAMS SET FOR GOODYEAR TIRE TEST AT MARTINSVILLE

Four NASCAR teams will converge Tuesday and Wednesday for a Goodyear tire test at Martinsville Speedway, the lone short track left on the Sprint Cup Series schedule.

The four teams invited will help confirm the tire compound for the Oct. 30 Goody's Fast Relief 500, the seventh event in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs. Those participating at the .526-mile track are:

The Chip Ganassi Racing No. 1 Chevrolet with driver Jamie McMurray
The Roush Fenway Racing No. 16 Ford with driver Greg Biffle
The Richard Childress Racing No. 27 Chevrolet with driver Paul Menard
The Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Toyota with driver Martin Truex Jr.

Two tests remain on the Sprint Cup schedule for the rest of the year.

Another Goodyear tire test is scheduled at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 17, the day after the 1.5-mile track completes its second NASCAR weekend of the year. NASCAR is also scheduled to conduct an organizational test Oct. 18-19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, site of the season finales for all three national series as part of Ford Championship Weekend.

NASCAR TV SCHEDULE: OCTOBER 3-9

What channel is the NASCAR race on this week? We answer that and provide all the weekly NASCAR television listings here.

RELATED: Find NBCSN in your area

All times ET
Monday, October 3
1:30 a.m., NASCAR Victory Lane, FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7:30 p.m., NASCAR 120, NBCSN

Tuesday, October 4
5:30 p.m., Racing Roots, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Wednesday, October 5
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Thursday, October 6
Noon, NASCAR: The List "Memorable Moments" (re-air), NBCSN
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Series: Stafford Motor Speedway (taped), NBCSN
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, NBCSN
3 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, NBCSN
4 p.m., NASCAR K&N Pro Series: Dover International Speedway (taped), NBCSN
5 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
5:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN

Friday, October 7
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, NBCSN
4:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, NBCSN
7:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN
8 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Drive for the Cure 300 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC, NBCSN
10:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Post-Race Show, NBCSN

Saturday, October 8
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (re-air), NBCSN
5 p.m., NASCAR America Saturday, NBCSN
6 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN
7 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500, NBC
11 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Post-Race Show, NBCSN

REDDICK CAPTURES FIRST WIN OF SEASON,SHAKES UP CHASE

LAS VEGAS – Tyler Reddick outdueled Brad Keselowski Racing teammate Daniel Hemric to win Saturday night's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series DC Solar 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The victory was Reddick's first of the 2016 season and marked the first time the Brad Keselowski Racing team had fashioned a one-two finish in the series.

Reddick led five times for 70 of the 146 laps around the 1.5-mile track, taking the advantage for the final time from Cole Custer shortly after the race's third caution.

Custer, who finished third in the No. 00 Chevrolet, faded from contention after a furious battle with Hemric, one that likely assured Reddick of the victory as the pursuers used up the grip in their tires.

Reddick's margin of victory over his teammate was 1.404 seconds as he completed the race at an average speed of 143.163 mph.

"We were spot-on from the beginning," said Reddick, who started 16th in the 31-truck field but reached the top three by the 19th lap. The victory was his third in the series and first since June 2015 at Dover International Speedway.

Ben Kennedy and William Bryan completed the top-five finishers. Christopher Bell, Johnny Sauter, Matt Crafton, pole starter Timothy Peters and Grant Enfinger were sixth through 10th.

Peters and Kennedy led the early stages of the race. Peters held the point until the 14th lap when Kennedy took over followed by Custer. The caution clock triggered the yellow flag at lap 39, giving Reddick the lead after pit service.

Reddick, Hemric and Custer exchanged the lead through most of the remainder of the event, which saw a dozen total lead changes among five drivers. Hemric led the second-most laps, 38.

Saturday night's race was the second of three in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase's Round of 8. While Reddick was not among the eight post-season qualifiers, a Hemric victory could have allowed the runner-up finisher to advance to the next round. As it is, he's 15 points outside the six-driver cutoff line heading into the Oct. 22 Talladega Superspeedway elimination race, the same as John Hunter Nemechek, who finished 16th in Las Vegas.

"Unfortunately, I was a spoiler for my teammate," Reddick said.

Hemic said it could be easy to be frustrated – so near yet so far – but noted Reddick did what he was supposed to do for the team.

"We're both racing for the win," he said. "We're doing all we can to win these races. He did everything picture-perfect."

New Hampshire winner William Byron, who's guaranteed to advance to the next round, continues as the points leader. Bell, Crafton, Kennedy, Peters and Sauter all are above the cutoff line after two of the three Round of 8 races.

KYLE BUSCH AMONG SPRINT CUP REGULARS TO MISS RESCHEDULED XFINITY RACE

The XFINITY Series Dover race postponement -- due to weather -- left teams scrambling to assemble its lineups Saturday afternoon with playoff chances on the line.

Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup contenders, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Austin Dillon were expected to perform double-duty, but with both races now on Sunday, teams had to reassemble its lineups so the trio could focus on their main event -- the first elimination race in the Chase.

Drew Herring will wheel the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for Busch, while Ryan Blaney will sit behind Team Penske's No. 22 Ford for Logano and Regan Smith is set to replace Dillon in the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, according to multiple reports.

Busch enters the Sprint Cup Citizen Soldier 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) fourth on the Chase Grid and, just a few spots behind, sits Logano in sixth. Dillon is currently 14th, five points below the cutoff.

WEATHER CANCELS FINAL SPRINT CUP SERIES PRACTICE, POSTPONES XFINITY RACE

After spotty rain affected events all day Saturday at Dover, NASCAR postponed the XFINITY Series' Drive Sober 200 until 10 a.m. ET Sunday (CNBC, MRN, SIRIUS XM).

The second race of the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase was set to be the capstone to a day of action at Dover International Speedway.

Saturday's on-track action started well for the second Sprint Cup practice at Dover. But sprinkles turned to heavier rain with 15 minutes left in that practice, bringing out the red flag after 45 minutes of the 55-minute session.

XFINITY Series qualifying was also off to a good start, but was scrapped after just one round, handing Erik Jones the pole position.

Final Sprint Cup practice was set for 1:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN/NBC Sports App), but was ultimately canceled due to inclement weather. 

Friday's Sprint Cup Coors Light qualifying was canceled due to persistent rain. The field was set by owner standings, allowing Brad Keselowski to start P1 for the second time this year. The Sprint Cup Series will return to the track tomorrow for the Citizen Soldier 400 at 2 p.m. ET (NBCSN/NBC Sports App).