Culmination will be his coronation
Truex’s work has put him on verge of 1st title
On auto racing
Martin Truex Jr. is not a lonesome loser.
He has crawled his way up the ranks and paid the requisite dues. Truex’s long trajectory dates to racing go-karts at the New Egypt Speedway in central New Jersey and a pit stop in Mooresville, N.C., where he once rented a home from Dale Earnhardt Jr. as he carved a niche in NASCAR.
Truex now has a smoother ride in his No. 78 Toyota for Furniture Row Racing and can buy plenty of fancy homes with an estimated worth of $30 million.
Just don’t be surprised if that number goes up a few notches by the end of November, shortly after he becomes King of NASCAR in 2017 and wins his first Cup season title.
This isn’t exactly highstakes handicapping. Truex has had the dominant ride of the season and proved it Sunday with a victory at Chicagoland Speedway. He already had entered the newfangled NASCAR playoffs as the No. 1 seed.
This just builds his case for “catch me if you can.”
“I don’t care much about statements; I’m just having fun,” Truex said in victory lane amid the pomp and circumstance.
The victory automatically puts him in the second round as the elimination-series cutdown from 16 drivers continues until we get to the final four at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 19.
Truex has five victories this season, including the latest one that was quite impressive. The challenges included driving through the field after a speeding penalty and having to crawl back from 13th to the lead after an unscheduled pit stop for loose lug nuts.
No worries. He led all but one of the final 78 laps, winning by 7.2 seconds.
“(It’s) the best feeling in the world,” Truex said. “Not just the playoffs, but winning races and doing it the way we’re doing it.”
Stuff can happen in any of the nine races remaining. Ask Matt Kenseth, who had an odd encounter with an ambulance at Richmond in the regular-season finale. But this feels different.
Truex has been a tough man to catch over the last few seasons, finishing fourth and 11th the last two. He’s No. 1 right now with 58 playoff points, 25 more than Kyle Larson in second.
As for other intangibles, Truex is as nice as they come off the track: pleasant, unassuming and not a drop of rich blood oozing through his body.
Do not be deceived, however.
“He has a split personality,” said Jeff Burton, an NBC Sports analyst. “That’s his secret. Martin Truex Jr. off the race track is unbelievably nice, unbelievably kind and giving. On the track, you can’t race like that.
“You have to race like your mom told you not to act when you were playing with your friends. That’s what he does. You have to have a split personality.”
The second one is the problem child for his NASCAR competitors.
Driver moves: Please leave the porch light on for Danica Patrick. She won’t be with Stewart-Haas Racing next season, but there still might be a ride for her somewhere else.
That comes from someone who knows her better than you do — bossman Tony Stewart.
“Good question,” Stewart said during a Tuesday morning segment on “The Dan Patrick Show.”
“I don’t know what she has planned. She has so much stuff going on. She reminds me a lot of me. She’s got wineries, she’s got her yoga stuff, she’s got a clothing line she’s working on. But I don’t see her leaving the sport. She’s that driven and that competitive. She still wants to win.”
As for another photogenic racer looking for a new future, Kasey Kahne will drive for Leavine Family Racing in the No. 95 Chevrolet Camaro next season. He’ll replace Michael McDowell, who has driven that car since 2014.
Kahne has been with Hendrick Motorsports since 2012. The team bought him out of his contract for next season, making him a free agent. Kahne had a rough opening round to the playoffs at Chicagoland, where he finished 21st and is 15th in the 16-driver field.
NASCAR mourning: NASCAR Nation is mourning the loss of Ted Christopher, who died in a plane crash Saturday in Connecticut.
Christopher, 59, won 48 NASCAR Modified Series races and had hundreds of feature wins in the Northeast.
“Christopher was a throwback to NASCAR’s roots,” NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France said. “He was a tough racer’s racer, and his harddriving style and candid personality endeared him to short-track fans throughout the country. He will be missed throughout the racing community, in the garage and, especially, in the hearts of his many fans.”