Truex keeps his eyes on road, but his mind elsewhere in win
Standing next to his car in victory lane, in this season he never thought possible, Martin Truex Jr. struggled with his emotions.
He raced to his career-best sixth victory Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and this win is worth an automatic slot in the next round of NASCAR’s playoffs. He’s clearly the driver to beat in this championship race, and the reality of how close it really is seemed somewhat surreal.
Then he thought about his partner, Sherry Pollex, who has ovarian cancer and chemotherapy scheduled for Monday. She couldn’t come to the race, partly because her weakened immune system makes crowds too risky for her. He choked on his words, his voice heavy as he tried not to cry.
“I couldn’t hold it in anymore,” he said. “Sherry, I was thinking about her because she’s not here, and I know she really wanted to be. I thought about winning this first race of the round, the pressure coming off. Just a lot of things, I guess. I was wore out. I just lost it for a minute.
“There’s a lot going on. It just shows how much this stuff means to us. We put everything into this, everything we have.”
Truex gave Toyota yet another victory in NASCAR’s playoffs — the manufacturer is 4 for 4 so far — on a humid day at Charlotte. Truex has two wins in the playoffs.
Kyle Busch, winner of the last two playoff races, wrecked early in the race, yet completed it in a damaged race car. Complaining most of the 500 miles of being overheated, he needed immediate medical attention when he climbed from his car.
Busch lay in the grass, packs of ice on his chest, and a stretcher was brought to him. Once he felt strong enough, he stood and walked to an ambulance. He received oxygen to treat a high carbon monoxide level.
“I felt like I was having a heat stroke,” Busch said.
The humidity drained several drivers, including Truex, who had to catch his breath after taking the checkered flag.
Truex won in overtime after two late cautions created extra laps and forced Truex to hold off fellow Toyota driver Denny Hamlin on a pair of restarts.
Chase Elliott finished second for the second consecutive week and sixth time in his career. He nearly won for the first time in the Cup series a week ago, but Busch ran him down and passed him for the win with one lap to go.
Harvick was third and Hamlin finished fourth. Like his teammate Busch, Hamlin was drained after the race. His fire suit was soaked with sweat stains, and he needed to eat a banana to recover.
“You usually can tell hydration level from my suit,” Hamlin said. “Any time it has white streaks all over it, I’m spent pretty good. I feel pretty bad, no doubt about it.”
Formula One: Championship leader Lewis Hamilton won the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, taking a major step toward winning his fourth Formula One title. The Mercedes driver crossed the finish line 1.2 seconds ahead of Malaysia GP winner Max Verstappen to claim his eighth F1 victory of the season and third at the Suzuka circuit. Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo was third.
Hamilton moved 59 points clear of title rival Sebastian Vettel with four races left. Vettel was forced to retire on the third lap when his Ferrari lost power.
The next race is the United States Grand Prix on Oct. 22 in Austin, Texas.