Martin Truex Jr. Dominates Way to Win at NASCAR at Kentucky 2018

Racing under the lights for the second straight week, Martin Truex Jr. took the checkered flag on Saturday at the 2018 Quaker State 400 from Kentucky Speedway.

Truex, who started the race on the pole, finished ahead of Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick in the top five.

Here's how things played out in the top 10 during Saturday's race:

1. Martin Truex Jr.

2. Ryan Blaney

3. Brad Keselowski

4. Kyle Busch

5. Kevin Harvick

6. Kurt Busch

7. Erik Jones

8. Aric Almirola

9. Kyle Larson

10. Joey Logano

Full results available via NASCAR.com.

Truex arrived in Kentucky this week looking to repeat as champion at this event and seeking his fourth win of the season. He got off to a strong start by winning the pole position during qualifying.

After capturing the pole, Truex told reporters his main objective in the weeks ahead was to secure as many points as possible with nine races before the playoffs begin:

"I think it goes without saying that everybody knows that you want as many as you can get. In our case last year, we got a lot of points and won a lot of stages because we were fast and were leading a lot of laps. Everybody is still trying to win as many stages as they can. We're doing the same things we did last year, we just haven't won as many."

Truex garnered two bonus points for winning each of the first two stages en route to leading a race-high 174 laps before crossing the finish line in first place.

Coming off last Saturday's wreck-filled race at Daytona International Speedway, things were much tamer this week. There were still moments when drivers lost control of their vehicles, but nothing serious enough to knock half of the field out of the race:

Truex's win also helped narrow the gap between the top three drivers in the playoff standings. Kyle Busch, who came in fourth, still leads the field with 799 points. Harvick is 59 points behind him, followed by Truex at 110 points off the pace.

That trio has combined to win 14 of the 19 races this season. Clint Bowyer is the only other driver with multiple victories under his belt.

This track has been tailor-made for Truex's racing style. He's won all six stages at this track since NASCAR began counting stages prior to the start of the 2017 season.

Truex and the No. 78 team will look to keep their momentum going next week when NASCAR heads to New Hampshire.