DOVER, Del. — Martin Truex Jr. has tried to enjoy his career year as much as he can. The veteran driver says he never knows when the run might end.

He kept on rolling at Dover.

Truex will try to win his sixth race of the season from the pole at Dover International Speedway in NASCAR’s third playoff race. Truex has been the driver to beat all season and he proved it again Friday, when he turned a lap of 160.664 mph to win his second pole of the season.

Truex clinched a berth in the second round of the playoffs when he won at Chicagoland Speedway. He had the dominant car last week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway until he was caught up in a wreck and finished fifth.

Truex has nine wins in the No. 78 Toyota at Furniture Row Racing over the last two years after winning just three times in his first 10 years. Oh, and Truex won this race last year.

“It takes so many things to come together to be in a position that I’ve been the last few years, really,” he said. “I’m very thankful, I’m definitely enjoying it. At the same time, there’s that chance of a championship out there. You can’t lose focus and say, this is going great, we’re going to show up to the track and everything’s going to be fine. You still have to work hard.”

Truex ended Kyle Busch’s bid at three straight poles. Busch started first in the first two playoff races and will start second Sunday in an all-Toyota front row. Busch advanced to the second round when he won at New Hampshire.

The playoff field will be sliced from 16 drivers to 12 after Sunday’s race. Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne are the bottom four drivers in the playoff standings. Dillon starts 23rd, Newman eighth, Busch 13th and Kahne 21st.

XFINITY SERIES: The driver who will replace Dale Earnhardt Jr. next season in the Cup Series will drive in two upcoming Xfinity Series races for Chip Ganassi Racing, at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway.

Bowman has never won a race in 133 starts in the Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series.