Erik Jones Holds Off Martin Truex Jr. for First Career Victory in Coke Zero Sugar 400

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Erik Jones held off Martin Truex Jr. on the final lap to earn his first career victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. With only 14 cars remaining on track, Erik Jones survived absolute chaos to earn the victory. Wrecks, wrecks, and more wrecks were the highlight of the race and then the race was capped off by a first-time winner, exactly what International Speedway Corp. wanted.

Martin Truex Jr. earned the second place finish, his 12th top-five finish of the 2018 season. AJ Allmendinger rebounded from the blown engine at Sonoma to finish third in tonight's race. Kasey Kahne and Chris Buescher rounded out the top-five.

The first big wreck of the afternoon happened when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hooked Brad Keselowski into Kurt Busch collecting most of the front contenders. The second wreck collected Kyle Busch and William Byron which sent both drivers behind the wall, this was also caused by Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

The second to final accident of the night involved Michael McDowell, Joey Gase, and Aric Almirola. It involved Almirola getting sandwiched against the wall by McDowell and Gase. McDowell had led a career-high 20 laps during the race but was relegated to 26th.

The final incident of the night involved Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, and others when Bowyer got turned as the field was just mere inches from the finish line. This set up the final overtime finish of the night

The race was slowed by caution 10 times for 46 laps, that included a five minute and one-second red flag. There were 25 lead changes amongst 16 drivers and a total of two overtime restarts highlighted the end of the race.

Results from Daytona

  1. Erik Jones
  2. Martin Truex Jr.
  3. AJ Allmendinger
  4. Kasey Kahne
  5. Chris Buescher
  6. Ty Dillon
  7. Matt DiBenedetto
  8. Ryan Newman
  9. Austin Dillon
  10. Alex Bowman
  11. Jeffrey Earnhardt
  12. Brendan Gaughan
  13. DJ Kennington
  14. Darrell Wallace Jr. 
  15. David Ragan
  16. Ray Black Jr.
  17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 
  18. JJ Yeley
  19. Kevin Harvick
  20. Trevor Bayne
  21. Ross Chastain
  22. Clint Bowyer
  23. Jimmie Johnson
  24. Landon Cassill
  25. Joey Gase
  26. Michael McDowell
  27. Aric Almirola
  28. Paul Menard
  29. Kyle Larson
  30. Jamie McMurray
  31. Corey LaJoie
  32. William Byron
  33. Kyle Busch
  34. Chase Elliott
  35. Daniel Suarez
  36. Brad Keselowski
  37. Kurt Busch
  38. Denny Hamlin
  39. Joey Logano
  40. Ryan Blaney
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Kentucky Speedway next weekend for the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart. Martin Truex Jr. is the defending race winner and will look to earn another victory as the big three will return. 

Photo Credit: Erick Messer/ Erick Messer Photography

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