With his dominant effort at Pocono Raceway, Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Toyota’s Martin Truex Jr. extended his lead in the NASCAR Power Rankings. Sunday’s Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 podium finish was Truex’s sixth top-five result of the year.

At the three-time winner’s home track of Pocono, Truex led 20 laps and scored points in both stages. Even with five races remaining until the playoffs begin, he still leads William Byron by 30 points in the regular-season standings.

Aside from Kyle Larson’s 1,566 laps led, Truex has been one of the most reliable and powerful drivers in the Cup Series this season, winning four races and leading 1,001 laps. With victories at Sonoma (a road course), Martinsville (a short track), Darlington (a superspeedway), and Phoenix (an intermediate track), he has shown his adaptability as a Driver.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway is the next stop on Truex’s outstanding season, as he hopes to add to his two victories and nine top-10 finishes in 27 appearances at the track. Stage and race victories will also help him gain more playoff points; he now has 25, behind 32 for Larson and 27 for Kyle Busch.

After winning the 2017 Cup championship, Truex is the heavy favourite to make it back to the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway in November and earn his second Cup title. He is a top driver in Phoenix, where he won earlier this season and placed second in last year’s championship race.