DOVER, Del. - It's a good problem to have and not a question Martin Truex Jr. will duck.
Truex won Sunday's Citizen Soldier 400 at Dover International Speedway, his second victory in NASCAR's Chase and fourth of the season. He now heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway, a track at which he has already won in historically dominant fashion this season, to open the second round of the playoffs.
It's been nothing less than a great season for Truex and his Denver-based Furniture Row Racing team, but there are seven races remaining before a champion will be crowned at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Despite his consistent excellence and the title-favorite's role he has assumed, has Truex peaked too early?
"I think that's a fair question," said Truex, who won Sunday on a track that is near his hometown of Mayetta, N.J. "It's a good question. But we have done this all year long. You look at this team and what we've done, aside from bad luck, I can't tell you how many races we could have won this year. You've seen the same thing."
Each of Truex's other victories this season has been full of meaning. He led a NASCAR-record 588 miles at Charlotte's Coca-Cola 600. He won the Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, another of the sport's crown-jewel races. He set the tone for the postseason by winning the Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway two weeks ago.
"We've just got to go out there each week and try to be as prepared as we can," Truex said. "We're not going to change who we are. We didn't do that before the Chase started. We just got hot and we got momentum, and hopefully we don't lose it. I don't know how we got it, I don't know how to keep it. I just know that I think we're going to continue to approach these races the same way, and hopefully it works out for us."
Truex's No. 78 Toyota has been fast all season, but he has had his share of misfortune with broken parts and tough pit stops. Some of that turned Sunday, when Jimmie Johnson - who appeared to have the strongest car on the track and led 90 laps - was penalized on pit road, allowing Truex to take over.
"The biggest thing we were concerned about was where (Johnson) was," said Cole Pearn, Truex's crew chief. "We knew if he was able to get back on the lead lap, that's who we were going to be racing. They really drew our focus and we called the race off their decisions."
It was another frustrating day for Johnson, who has 10 career victories at the Monster Mile. He has had to deal with continuing problems during pit stops, as well as some miscalculations of his own on the track, over the past several races.
This time, a crew member went over the wall too soon, drawing a pass-through penalty that cost Johnson the lead.
"Today was a different set of circumstances on pit road," said Johnson, who finished seventh. "I was coming into my pit box as (Kyle Busch) and (Aric Almirola) were just leaving theirs and they were directly behind my box. I had to slam on the brakes and get turned and get underneath those guys to come in. I was pretty close to my box so I assume that just threw the rhythm off the pit stop and somebody came off the wall early. Certainly a mistake, but it's not one that I've ever had happen."
Johnson, however, will join Truex in the second round of the Chase, as will nine other drivers who advanced on points, including race runner-up Busch.
Kevin Harvick, the first round's other winner, was happy to have that victory (which clinched him a spot in the second round) after he blew a tire early and went on to finish 37th.
Four drivers were eliminated from the Chase - Tony Stewart, Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray and Chris Buescher.
The day belonged to Truex, whose team faces a tough week - returning to Denver, then driving back for a test at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and on to Concord for Saturday's race.
"It's just clicking," said Truex. "I don't know. I feel like all season long we've been the same team, and we've done the same things. I guess right now it's just our time. Throughout the summer, we led so many laps and had so many great race cars and so many great weekends that would just - things would happen.
"Sometimes it was just rotten luck, sometimes it was mistakes or just circumstances that didn't play out. But I think that the biggest thing is we just kept our heads in the game. We've got confidence, we've got momentum, and we're just rolling with it.
"Hopefully we can continue this for seven more weeks."