Victorious Martin Truex Jr. emotional as thoughts turn to girlfriend's chemotherapy
CONCORD, N.C. -- Think a 500-mile, humidity-laced race like Sunday’s Bank of America 500 is tough?
Try Martin Truex Jr.’s journey. He and his long-time girlfriend, Sherry Pollex, have gone through the sharp ups and downs of her battle with ovarian cancer for years, dreading the results of every test and recovering from the stresses of surgeries while keeping Truex’s rising career on the move.
That — and more — overwhelmed Truex in victory lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday, and he found himself speechless, backing away from a television interview minutes after scoring the sixth win of what has been a remarkable season.
“It hit me in victory lane, and all of a sudden you can’t talk,” Truex said later. “There’s so much I’m thankful for because this stuff is so hard.”
Pollex had a chemotherapy treatment Monday and stayed home for Sunday’s race. Whenever possible, she has been with Truex at tracks despite her health issues, and the anticipation is that she will return soon as his march toward what would be a first Cup championship continues.
“I couldn’t hold it in anymore,” Truex said of the first moments in victory lane. “Yeah, Sherry, I was thinking about her because she’s not here, and I know she really wanted to be.
"I know our guys love having her around when we win, and she's a fun person to celebrate with, so I thought about that. And I thought about winning the first race of this round. A lot of things. I just lost it for a minute.”
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Sunday’s win meant much more than simply a check and a trophy.
It gives Truex immunity going into next weekend’s unpredictable race at Talladega Superspeedway. He said he won’t view the Talladega race as a throwaway day, but he won’t argue with the fact that he’s happy about the opportunity to do that.
The Charlotte victory guaranteed his spot in the Round of 8 portion of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
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“I will say that it's going to be pretty awesome going to Talladega and say, ‘Oh, what the hell, let's go race,’ " Truex said. “It doesn't matter if we crash. Talladega has just been a tough track for us just to finish. I mean, last year we probably had the best car we've ever went there with, and we ran 20 laps and blew up.
"So, God, there's so many unknowns there, and you can run up front all day long and finish 25th. You can run up front for 20 laps and get destroyed. You just never know. There's so much out of your control.
"To go there and not have to worry about all those things is definitely a good feeling.”In a total of 50 races at Talladega and Daytona, the circuit’s two restrictor-plate tracks, Truex is winless.
Crew chief Cole Pearn put it simply.
Asked how good he feels holding a win going into Talladega, he said, “Big time. We suck (there).”
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