Truex Jr. wins yet another NASCAR playoff race for Toyota

CONCORD, N.C. — 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 and this one was the first time in this format that Toyota has won a race in this round of postseason.