LONG POND, Pa. — Martin Truex Jr. had his car parked on the White House lawn and was feted with a day in his honor in his home state of New Jersey. Nearly seven months after winning his first NASCAR Cup championship, Truex’s whirlwind victory tour remains on a barnstorming schedule.

“It just kind of reminded us of how big a deal it is to win a championship in this sport,” Truex said.

Lost in the shuffle in a season where Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch have turned the Cup Series into a two-driver show, Truex gave the field a reminder Sunday that he’s still a driver to beat in the championship race.

Truex stayed out during a pivotal caution late in the race to take the lead, then pulled away off a restart with seven laps left to win at Pocono Raceway and thrust himself into title contention.

“Just happy today that things kind of went our way a little bit for once,” Truex said.

Truex said it with a straight face, as the 37-year-old Furniture Row Racing driver is still having the type of season that all but two drivers would love to produce. He won the fifth race of the season at Fontana and had runner-up finishes in each of the last two races before Pocono, where he got his first victory for FRR in 2015 and launched his journeyman-to-champion career metamorphosis.

Still, Busch and Harvick had made a habit of collecting checkered flags; the two former Cup champions combined to win nine of the first 13 races. And each driver spent enough time in front – Harvick led 89 laps; Busch 13 – that a 1-2 finish at Pocono seemed almost certain on the 21/2-mile track.

Truex and Harvick each stayed out on a caution with 20 laps left. Busch made a pit stop and surrendered the lead to Truex, who held off a hard-charging Kyle Larson down the stretch.

“I think three of those guys are definitely head-over-heels better than the rest of us,” Larson said.

Larson was second, followed by Busch and Harvick. Brad Keselowski was fifth.

Busch won the Xfinity Series race Saturday to help Toyota sweep the weekend.

But Pocono belonged to Truex, who earned his 17th career Cup victory.

“I hope they got a lot of Yuengling in Victory Lane,” he said over the radio about the Pennsylvania brewery. “We’re going to drink it all!”

He had it sprayed on him instead.

“I feel like we’re getting back to what we were doing last year,” Truex said. “It’s always fun to win, especially when you beat the best guys out there.”

Truex, who had two wins at this point last season before he took off and won six more, celebrated with his longtime girlfriend Sherry Pollex. Pollex was a fixture in Victory Lane last season but scaled back her travel schedule as she continues her battle with ovarian cancer.

“I think more than anything, she was happy she picked the right one to come to,” Truex said, smiling.

She was by his side three weeks ago when they were both honored on the South Lawn of the White House. Truex, a native of Mayetta, New Jersey, was honored last week by Gov. Phil Murphy, who declared May 31 as Martin Truex Jr. Day.

Truex has had little time off as he bounces from one honor to the next.

“Honestly, as crazy as it’s been, it’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “I’ve gotten to do a lot of cool stuff. Going to the White House was amazing, and to get to meet the President and get the tour and the way he treated our team really made us feel special.”

With more races like Pocono, Truex may get to do it again.

NOTES: In the stunning stat department, seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson led his first laps of the season. He finished eighth and extended the longest losing streak of his career to 37. It’s been a year since he last won – June 4, 2017, at Dover. … Denny Hamlin spun the No. 11 Toyota and slammed into the inside wall late in the race and failed to finish for the second time this season. Hamlin remains winless and snapped a modest streak of three straight top-10 finishes.