JOLIET, Ill. -- Martin Truex Jr.s?tire became completely unraveled, and that left him a lap down, but he took the lead at the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup for the first time in his career.He can thank a late caution in what has been an emotional year for the small-team driver.Truex shot to the front after a late restart and pulled away to give Furniture Row Racing a NASCAR Sprint Cup playoff-opening victory Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway.Ive had a lot of practice at it, Truex said about the on-track obstacles. I think my approach really changed two years ago, when (girlfriend) Sherry got diagnosed with cancer. My approach to all those things changed and made me a better driver.NASCAR announced after the race that Truexs No. 78 Toyota failed the laser inspection, but the infraction was not at the level of negating the victory for Chase qualification purposes. Truex is expected to receive a point penalty this week.Rookie Chase Elliott appeared on his way to an easy win until Michael McDowell blew a tire and spun out to bring a caution with five laps left.Elliott and Truex came in to pit for tires, with some non-Chase drivers Ryan Blaney and Kasey Kahne and Chase contender Carl Edwards staying on the track.Truex restarted fourth and Elliott fifth, and Truex quickly got to the front and held off Joey Logano on the final lap for his third victory of the season. Truex is guaranteed to move on when the Chase field is cut from 16 to 12 in two weeks.Truex, whose team gets technical support from Joe Gibbs Racing, made the last four in the 2015 Chase. His 2016 season started with a near-miss at the Daytona 500 and a Coca-Cola 600 win, while Sherry Pollex battled ovarian cancer. Shes now in remission.You have to understand, this isnt the end of the world, Truex said of racing setbacks. We can overcome it. Thats what we did today.Elliott, a rookie, finished third, followed by Blaney and Chase driver Brad Keselowski, who sits second in points.Its not yours until its over, the 20-year-old Elliott said. Thats part of life, man. Youre not dumb. Weve all watched this stuff long enough to know these races dont go green that long.Truex led early in the race only to have his tire come completely unraveled. It led to an unscheduled stop that left him a lap down in the 400-mile race.The hard compound came off it, said Cole Pearn, Truexs crew chief. I guess [Goodyear] saw a couple other tires and came down and told us a certain sequence number had an issue.Truex had no other tire issues on the 1.5-mile oval and outraced Kevin Harvick, who also got into early trouble, to be in position for the free pass to the lead lap on the next caution.Jimmie Johnson dominated the middle of the race, leading 118 laps, until Elliott got by him on lap 176 of 267.Johnson was running second when he was caught speeding on pit road during the last green-flag stop, yelling no way! on his radio when told he had to serve a pass-through penalty. Johnson finished 12th, but his car also failed laser inspection and he could plummet in the points standings.Elliott led for 75 laps in what was a clean race with only three cautions until McDowells late wreck changed the dynamic of the race.I feel for Chase. I know what hes going through, Truex said. I wasnt going to catch him.WHOS HOT: Chase drivers Truex, Logano, Elliott, Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth all finished in the top 10. Jamie McMurray was 11th, Kurt Busch 13th and Tony Stewart 14th.WHOS NOT: Kyle Larson, who had the fastest car in Saturdays practice, had to change a transmission and start from the back. He finished 18th. ... Harvick ended up 20th amid multiple issues. ... Rookie Chris Buescher fell a lap down 41 laps in and two laps down before the 100th lap. He finished 28th.PENALTIES: Based on new rules announced last week, Johnson could receive a 10-point penalty, which would drop him into a tie for 12th in the Chase standings. Truex could be docked 15 points, but the win locks him into the second round.DILLON SUBS: Ty Dillon finished 27th filling in for Regan Smith in the No. 7 Chevrolet. Smith left the track Friday and returned to North Carolina after his wife went into labor.COWABUNGA: With Nickelodeon as the race sponsor, the winning trophy was a gold base with the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on top in various poses. Truex plans to put it in his shop so visiting kids can get a picture with it.UP NEXT: Two races remain before the Chase field is cut to 12. Next Sunday is a 300-mile race at New Hampshire, where Kenseth won in July. Authentic Hockey Jerseys . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. Fake Hockey Jerseys . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. https://www.fakehockeyjerseys.com/ . -- Aaron Murray threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns, ran for another score, and led No. Hockey Jerseys Black Friday . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. Cheap Hockey Jerseys Authentic . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. Wests Tigers have received a huge boost ahead of their crunch NRL clash with Canberra with Aaron Woods recovering from a virus and cleared to play.Woods was bed-ridden and on a drip during the week however ran with the side during Saturdays captains run at Leichhardt Oval and is a certain starter.Veteran hooker Dene Halatau also trained after coming down with the virus which swept through the Tigers camp over the last week, and looks likely to take his place.However back-rower Elijah Taylor was absent and is being monitored by team doctors.(Elijah Taylor) has come down with something similar to the other guys, Taylor said.But the doctor feels hes not quite as bad as Dene and Woodsy were. Were hopeful hell play tomorrow but if he doesnt,, he doesnt.ddddddddddddTo sneak into the finals, the Tigers require the Gold Coast to upset premiers North Queensland on Saturday night and then beat the Raiders, who are on a nine-game winning streak.Taylor conceded while the sides preparation hadnt been ideal, he wasnt concerned it had knocked them off course ahead of arguably their biggest game of the year.Its not a massive distraction because the guys are just getting on with it, Taylor said.All the individual can do is control his own preparation and be ready to play.Well have fit, able replacements ready to go. Look, its not ideal but well overcome it. ' ' '