JOLIET, Ill. -- Martin Truex Jr. went from a completely unraveled tire that left him a lap down to the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup championship lead 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 re-start 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 near miss at the Daytona 500 and a Coca-Cola 600 win, while Sherry Pollex has 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, Cole Pearn, Truexs crew chief, said. 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 McMcMuray was 11th, Kurt Busch 13th, Austin Dillon 14th, Carl Edwards 15th and Tony Stewart 16th.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 the race sponsor, the winning trophy was a gold base with the four Teenage Mutant Ninga 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.Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. Stitched NHL Jerseys . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. http://www.cheapnhlcustomjerseys.com/ . - Levi Browns tenure at left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers is over before it even began. Fake NHL Jerseys . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Fake Adidas NHL Jerseys . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers no sooner got Zack Greinke back from the disabled list when Josh Beckett took his place there Wednesday. Beckett went on the 15-day DL retroactive to Tuesday with a strained left groin. He is 0-5 with a 5.19 ERA in eight starts this season. The right-hander turned 33 on Wednesday. He left after three innings of Mondays 6-2 loss to Washington when he tweaked his groin covering first base on a grounder. Manager Don Mattingly said that after 24 hours Beckett still wasnt feeling any better. "On the second day he goes, I really dont feel like I can play catch," Mattingly said. "Its a no-brainer at that point because you know hes not going to make a start, so thats 10 days. Were already up to 10 days so 15 is not really a lot extra. Plus he has those little issues that we hope we can get on top of too." Mattingly and Beckett havent specified what those other issues are. Greinke was reinstated in time to start the series finale on Wednesday night, three weeks earlier than had originally been projected. He broke his left clavicle in a fight with Saan Diegos Carlos Quentin on April 11, and was expected to be out eight weeks.dddddddddddd With their rotation ravaged by injuries, the Dodgers agreed to a minor league deal with left-hander Jonathan Sanchez. He will report to Triple-A Albuquerque, but the deal includes an opt-out clause if hes not in the majors by July 1, according to ESPN. "Hes a guy thats been a quality starter," Mattingly said. "He had a couple of years where he struggled. We thought he actually threw the ball pretty good. I didnt have anything to do with the decision to bring him in, but Im sure it had something to do with depth and we might be able to find a guy who has had some major league success." Sanchez was 0-3 with an 11.35 ERA in five games when he was released by Pittsburgh in April. The 30-year-old pitched in the 2010 World Series with San Francisco. Besides Greinke and Beckett, starters Chad Billingsley, Chris Capuano, Ted Lilly and Stephen Fife have spent time on the DL since the start of the season. Billingsley will miss the rest of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. ' ' '