JOLIET, Ill. -- Martin Truex Jr. has driven for race teams that he could, if everything goes well, win a championship.But things rarely always go well. And thats what makes 2016 different for Truex and his Furniture Row Racing team.They have a team that can win a championship even when things dont go well. They opened the Chase for the Sprint Cup by proving just that Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway.Ive never been in a position where I feel like we can go anywhere and win, Truex said after celebrating his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 victory. Right now I feel like any race track, any weekend, anywhere in the country we can win.Having to pit under green for a flat tire with about 200 laps remaining and then having contact with Kevin Harvick limiting their performance, Truex put himself in position to win when a late caution resulted in a two-lap dash to the finish.With all but three of the lead-lap cars pitting, Truex restarted fourth and easily snagged the lead from Ryan Blaney for the triumph, his third of the season.Truex had won just three races prior to this year, and he has never led the points. So theres no reason not to puff out his chest and feel like a Chase favorite leading the standings.I dont think theyre going to let up at all, Furniture Row Racing team owner Barney Visser said. They enjoy being in Victory Lane just a little bit too much.They work too hard on the cars to back off at all in the next two races. Martin enjoys running up front. Hes pure athlete. This is what he does it for.Truex would have felt the same way after the race if he had not won in the sense that he knew he has fast cars. But now that he knows hes in the quarterfinal round of the Chase, he can go to New Hampshire and Dover the next two weeks without a care in the world.The next two weeks, we dont have to worry about flat tires or somebody running into us and wrecking us, getting caught by a caution when youre pitting, things like that, Truex said.We dont have to worry about the things that we cant control. Thats what gives you the most anxiety in these situations.Truex can take that attitude even though his car failed postrace tech. It failed at the lowest levels of rear alignment measurements, not reaching the level where NASCAR would not allow him to use the win to advance.While Truex celebrated, several drivers opened the Chase without the racing luck they would have wanted.Kevin Harvick had it the worst. His car was nailed for illegal adjustments prior to the race and he started in the rear. He got caught on pit road when the caution came out, resulting in his losing a lap -- a lap he never got back.He sits in a likely three-way tie for 12th in the standings with Jimmie Johnson and Austin Dillon. Johnson is eighth after a 12th-place finish on a day when he led a race-high 118 laps but a speeding penalty with 33 laps remaining sent him to the back. Making his day worse, his car failed postrace tech, and the potential 10-point penalty will send him into that three-way tie for 12th -- the final cutoff spot to advance to the quarterfinal round after Dover.Very, very proud of the effort -- just so bummed, Johnson said, referring to his speeding penalty and before finding out his car failed tech. Dammit.But the driver who had to feel the biggest gut-punch was Chase Elliott, who led 74 of the final 93 laps and had a comfortable lead when the caution came out with four laps remaining.He came out of the pits right behind Truex and wound up third, seeing a lead wiped away with a late caution for the second time in four weeks.Thats life, thats part of racing, from short-track racing all the way to this stuff, Elliott said. Its expected. ... Its just life. It happens. Youve just got to embrace it and move on.If you are going to win these things, youve got to be able to do it in all situations. Whether its a green-flag run or five restarts, youve got to be able to do it.While Elliott wondered what could have been, Truex was celebrating his second win in the last three weeks. If anyone doubted the moxie of this group heading into the Chase, those doubts were answered with Truex celebrating in Victory Lane.I feel for Chase, Truex said. I know what hes going through. He did a great job. I wasnt going to catch him.And if he didnt, Truex could have dealt with it just fine. He cant win without thinking about what he has been through the last two years, with longtime girlfriend Sherry Pollex battling ovarian cancer.She has been cancer free for several months, and she has worked as a strong advocate for ovarian cancer research.My approach to it really changed two years ago when Sherry got diagnosed with cancer and had to go through all those things, Truex said. My approach to how I dealt with those things changed and I think made me a better driver.At the end of the day Ive been through a lot.?I think the only way to get through those type of things is to have experience with it and kind of learn how to deal with it and understand that, Hey, this isnt the end of the world, we can overcome it.Cheap Custom Rockies Jersey . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. Wholesale Custom Rockies Shirts . The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. http://www.customrockiesjersey.com/custom-todd-helton-jersey-large-74r.html . Deulofeu injured a muscle in his right leg in Evertons 4-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday. Barcelona says that its team doctors will "co-ordinate" with Evertons medical staff as Deulofeu recovers. Custom Rockies T-shirts . -- Arizona raced out to a big lead and did not back off, hitting the accelerator instead. Rockies Jerseys China . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup.CARSON, Calif. -- Robbie Keane will retire from international play for Ireland after a match with Oman next week in Dublin.The LA Galaxy captain made the announcement Wednesday through his MLS club.The 36-year-old Keane is Irelands longtime captain and career leader in goals (67) and appearances (145) over an 18-year international career. He played for Ireland at the 2002 World Cup and in the European Championship in 2012 and 2016, but was no longer a regular sstarter this year.ddddddddddddKeane retires as the top goal-scorer among all active international players worldwide.Ireland hosts Oman in a friendly at Aviva Stadium on Aug. 31.Keane has been a star for the Galaxy since arriving in 2011. The former MLS MVP has scored 80 goals in 121 appearances in Los Angeles, winning three MLS Cups. ' ' '