Darlington NASCAR: Martin Truex Jr holds off Kevin Harvick

Furniture Row driver Truex was quiet in a race that was slow to get going and only led 28 late laps of the 367 as pitlane issues thwarted Harvick's bid for victory.

Truex took the lead at the penultimate restart and opened up a gap of five seconds. By the time the final restart came around it was only a case of holding on and nailing the run to the flag.

The unfortunate Harvick followed close behind in second having been dominant through much of the race.

The Stewart-Haas driver led 214 laps but he lost a total of 17 positions because of two slow pitstops and had to battle back through the field twice in the late stages.

Michigan race winner Kyle Larson enjoyed a brief stint in the lead but he slipped back to third at the final restart, unable to hold off the faster Chevrolet of Harvick.

Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin also featured strongly and claimed fourth, with Penske's Joey Logano rounding out the top five.

Ryan Newman helped his efforts to secure a spot in the Chase despite starting from the back of the grid and going a lap down for a spell. The Richard Childress driver stayed out at the final caution but slipped back to finish eighth. He is now just seven points behind Jamie McMurray, last of those making it into the playoff on championship position at present.

Rookie Chase Elliott ran strongly in the top five all race but fell behind in the late stages as poor restarts meant he finished 10th.

Austin Dillon recovered from an early speeding penalty to finish 12th with rookie Ryan Blaney claiming 13th.

Chris Buescher's 17th place finish also helped his Chase cause, making his required top 30 position in the standings slightly more secure.

The final two cautions were caused by heavy hits for Kurt Busch and Aric Almirola. They were tapped by Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer respectively in separate incidents and sent into the barriers.

Next week's race at Richmond International Raceway is the last race of the regular season before the final Chase grid is decided.

RESULTS

CURRENT CHASE FIELD

On wins: Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Kyle Larson, Tony Stewart, Chris Buescher

On points: Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, Jamie McMurray