Johnson’s victory, Truex’s loss – ESPN

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Martin Truex Jr. was the show Saturday night at Kansas Speedway. Then Jimmie Johnson stole not only the show but also the unique SpongeBob SquarePants 400 trophy.

Sure, Johnson’s daughters might appreciate this trophy more than many of the 72 others he has won in the Sprint Cup Series, but it would have made a great birthday present for Sherry Pollex, Truex’s long-time girlfriend who is currently battling cancer.

The trophy also would have made a great addition to the setting when Martin and Sherry host Catwalk for a Cause on Wednesday. The annual fundraiser benefits Levine Children’s Hospital and features kids who are battling cancer. It is a longstanding cause for the duo.

A mistake in the pits knocked Truex from the lead, and it was going to be hard for him to track leader Kevin Harvick down, until a caution came out with 12 laps remaining. That’s when Truex’s night took a turn, as he pitted for fuel only in a gamble for track position.

That left him fifth on the restart, behind four cars that stayed out but alongside Harvick, who took right-side tires and fuel. The others behind Truex also had at least two fresh tires, which left him a sitting duck on the restart.

Truex came home ninth. It was another solid finish for a driver who trails just Harvick in points earned this year. That wasn’t much consolation for a driver searching for his first win since Sonoma in 2013. Still, he tried to focus on the bright side.

“It’s kind of disappointing, but at the same time, [I’m] proud of the way we ran, and I think it’s something we can build off of,” said Truex, whose Furniture Row Racing team unveiled a new chassis this weekend. “Felt like we were in a decent position there towards the end. Really hate when it comes down to fuel mileage. Seems like I’m always on the wrong end of that deal.

“But really wishing we could have raced Kevin for it. Seemed like we were both saving gas, and then seemed like about 10 [laps] to go, we were both kind of hammer down. It would have been fun to see if we could have had anything for him. But all in all, hard to be disappointed with how we ran, just disappointed in the outcome and the finish. But again, the guys have really done a great job, and this is something we can, moving forward, build on, and hopefully we can be in position to win some races this year.”

He was there most of the night until Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon stayed out after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got into the wall to bring out the caution.

“It was very unexpected to be here right now. I think we had a little bit of good fortune on our side, for sure,” said winning crew chief Chad Knaus, who nearly watched his driver go for a spin early in the race, before wrestling the car under control.

It was the type of race champions find a way to win, and Johnson, who has already won three times this year, is looking like a strong threat for his seventh Sprint Cup championship.

Johnson’s biggest mistake of the night was connecting with his wife, Chandra, on FaceTime from Victory Lane when he meant to call her. He joked that she might have hung up on him when she realized others could see her long after midnight back home in North Carolina.

Other than that, Johnson and Knaus displayed the championship moxie that Truex and his first-year crew chief, Cole Pearn, hope to acquire.

“I feel like we had a good car, as we got to the front and got out of the turbulent air,” Johnson said. “Our car got faster and faster. I thought we had a top-two or -three car but hadn’t been able to run up there with them. … We gambled with our pit call and got to the finish line just before [Harvick] with his fresh tires got to us. It’s fun to win one gambling. We haven’t really won one that way.”

While Johnson and Knaus celebrated with SpongeBob, Truex was left to contemplate how his team could learn from one that got away.

“We probably did the worst thing you could have done there, with just staying out and getting gas only, because we ended up being the last guy with no tires,” Truex said. “Everybody else behind us had two, and they ate us up on the restart. If we’d have taken two, we probably would have come out sixth [on the restart and] been in a pretty good position.

“All in all, I told Cole that he’s still new at this, this is his first year calling races, and he’s been spot-on all year long. He’s taken gambles when he needed to that paid off. He’s been smart when he needed to. He’s done everything right, and tonight, he just … he didn’t make the right call. Sometimes, you don’t always make the right call. Sometimes, the circumstances don’t play out the way you think they will or whatever.”

Sunday will be spent celebrating Sherry’s birthday. Wednesday will be spent raising money for children fighting far greater challenges than winning an auto race. All in all, watching a potential win slip away is hard to take, but Truex has faced far tougher obstacles.

“I can say I’ve never really been the luckiest guy in racing, but at the same time, I really enjoy racing here, and I enjoy the race track, and it’s fun to be competitive,” Truex said.

With that, he left the media center and prepared to head home to North Carolina, where he’ll focus on the important things for a few days, before turning his attention back to racing.