Stop me if you've heard this before: Martin Truex Jr. won a stage at a Cup Series race.
Truex won the first stage of the second playoff race of the postseason, which was his 19th stage win of the season.
https://twitter.com/NASCARonNBC/status/912028444577452032
Related: Top NASCAR driver thinks the stage format provides a 'safety net' for drivers in the playoffs
It was a largely uneventful opening stage. Playoff driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. struggled early on as he hit the wall coming off of Turn 2.
https://twitter.com/NASCARonNBC/status/912020223187861504
A few cars were overheating, which is a bit odd to see at this point in the season up in New Hampshire. It's at least something worth monitoring over the last two stages of the race.
