MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. were ready to do what was needed in the final rounds of the First Data 500 championship on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.

After trading in advance in the last 10 laps, Logano placed the bumper at Toyota's # 78 Truex and turned it to the side as the cars approached the line. ;arrival. Logano's # 22 Ford was also on the loose, but he recovered in time to tip forward Denny Hamlin down the line.

"We were racing hard," said Logano amid a mixture of hearty screams and cheers from supporters as he was getting out of his car. "You have to expect in Martinsville at the end of the race, there will be clashes and difficulties – it's the basic race here." That's what fans are coming to see.

"This is by far the biggest win of the year and we are now going to run for a championship in Miami!

Logano became the first Series 8 driver to qualify for a chance to win a championship in three weeks at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. As for Truex, the reigning champion of the series, he was trapped in the pits and promised that the Penske Team driver would not win the championship.

"I'm not going to leave it with the championship – it's all," said Truex, who held firm for third place. "We should be on the road to victory right now, I was next to him for six laps and I never put the bumper on him." It was a low shot and a win not dear, what's happening comes around. "

Truex's team leader, Cole Pearn, was as angry as his driver and he did not mince words.

"I'm happy not to have a baseball bat or jackhammer at the moment," Pearn said shakily.

But the owner of Logano's team, Roger Penske, was not buying what Truex, Pearn and the Furniture Row Racing team were selling.

"(Truex) should know better than that," Penske said. "It was a clean shot that you can have in a race like this, and as far as I'm concerned, it's a comment I do not think we deserve." From my point of view, Joey drove a Great race, our team was still leading the pits and leading the most laps, I can not say enough for Joey's performance today. "

Denny Hamlin, five-time winner at Martinsville and who has not won this season, said the only thing he was hoping for in the end was that Logano and Truex "collapse stronger".

When asked what was the arrival, Hamlin said that he could see it coming.

"I think (Logano) knew that he could not win from outside, so it was his one shot, you could see him coming in. I think everyone could see him coming .

"We've had great results and they're all running around short tracks, you're cutting aerodynamics and coming back to short tracks, you could have such a race every week."

Kyle Busch, seeded in the third round, was fourth, followed by Penske pilot Brad Keselowski. Among the other knockout stages, Kurt Busch was sixth, Chase Elliott seventh, Kevin Harvick 10th, Aric Almirola 11th and Clint Bowyer 21st.

After two relatively quiet first steps, the action resumed in the last stage. Logano led nearly 100 laps of the third segment before eventually being overtaken by Truex at 360 lap. But Truex's advance did not last long.

Following a warning on turn 366 after William Byron turned against the outside wall, the cars lined up for the restart, which allowed Truex to get ahead before seeing Logano overtaking him. again at turn 377.

About 20 laps later, Kyle Larson hit the wall behind his back after his # 42 Chevy suffered a mechanical failure. A long period of caution led to a fresh start and Logano kept his lead until team-mate Brad Keselwoski caught up with him on lap 419.

And then the yellow still flew, when the contact between Daniel Suarez and Jimmie Johnson caused a turn of Clint Bowyer on lap 457. The warning that followed led to all the leaders at the stand and Logano took over. advantage with Kyle Busch starting second and second. BradKeselowski third.

Hamlin won the first stage after starting third.

Hamlin, who led 29 laps in the first segment, led a fourth-round quartet in the playoffs, with Logano ahead of Kyle Busch for second place, Bowyer fourth and Kurt Busch fifth. Ryan Newman took 10 positions on a 16th place to finish sixth in the opening match. He was followed by Truex, Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Aric Almirola and Chase Elliott. Truex was the biggest player in the field, jumping 24 positions after starting the 31st because the reigning champion of the series had failed the pre-race inspection.

Logano and Hamlin staged a fierce battle in the closing stages of the second leg, with Logano just pinching the winner of Stage 1 on the line. Kyle Busch, Truex and Kurt Busch completed the top five, Newman finishing sixth again, Elliott seventh, Bowyer eighth, A.J. Allmendinger ninth and Keselowski 10th.

At the other end of the spectrum, Harvick passed Logano with a few laps to go, but closed the segment by becoming the first car of a lap in 15th position, which allowed him to resume the first lap as a dog. happiness.