NASCAR Watkins Glen 2017 results: Martin Truex Jr. wins I Love New York 355 at The Glen

The Furniture Row Racing driver won his series-best fourth race of the season.

Martin Truex Jr. combined speed and smarts to win the I Love New York 355 Sunday at Watkins Glen International, his series-best fourth Monster Cup Energy Series victory of the season.

Truex had one of the strongest cars all afternoon, leading a race-high 24 laps and finishing second in the first and second stages. But while the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota was fast, an unexpected 36-lap stretch of green flag racing forced drivers and teams to adjust their strategy.

Instead of pitting like many others, Truex stayed on the track and conserved fuel. Crew chief Cole Pearn even told Truex to relinquish the lead and slow his pace, confident that they would be able to make it to the finish while those ahead of him would need to stop.

Truex moved back into the lead after Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney each pitted with less than four laps remaining, then held off a charging Matt Kenseth on the final lap.

Rookie Daniel Suarez finished a career-best third, followed by Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer. Kurt Busch, pole-sitter Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, AJ Allmendinger, and rookie Erik Jones completed the top 10.