Emotional win for Truex at Charlotte
Standing next to his car in victory lane, in this season he never thought possible, Martin Truex Jr. struggled with his emotions.
Truex raced to his careerbest sixth victory of the season Sunday, and this win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., was 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 today. She couldn’t come to the race, partly because her weakened immune system makes crowds too risky for her.
He choked on his words, trying 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.’’
On a humid day at Charlotte, Truex gave Toyota yet another victory in NASCAR’s playoffs — the manufacturer is 4 for 4 so far.
He 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.
Kyle Busch, winner of the last two playoff races, wrecked early in the race yet completed it in a damaged car. Complaining most of the 500 miles of being overheated, he needed immediate medical attention when he climbed from his car.
Busch laid in the grass, packs of ice were placed 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 him 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.
Kevin Harvick was third and Denny Hamlin finished fourth.
Jamie McMurray was fifth, Daniel Suarez sixth, Jimmie Johnson seventh, Ryan Blaney eighth and Kasey Kahne ninth.
Kyle Larson was 10th, Matt Kenseth 11th, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 13th, Brad Keselowski 15th and Busch 29th.
Up next is Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway, where Stenhouse won in the spring.
The bottom four racers in the standings headed into Talladega are Kenseth, Keselowski, Blaney and Stenhouse.
Hamilton wins Japanese Grand Prix
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton won the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, taking a major step toward winning his third 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.
Reynolds is tops Down Under
David Reynolds and his co-driver Luke Youlden won the most high-profile race in Australian motorsports, finishing the Bathurst 1000 in his Holden in an unofficial time of 7 hours, 13 minutes in slick and rainy conditions on Mount Panorama.
Scott Pye, also driving a Holden, was four seconds behind in second place, followed by Fabian Coulthard in a Ford.