Martin Truex Jr. Wins NASCAR Monster Energy Series Championship, Dale Jr. Runs Last Race

By  //  November 20, 2017

Truex Jr. Had to win race to win championship

ABOVE VIDEO: The driver of the No. 78, Martin Truex Jr. battled his way to the front and fought off tough pushes from Kyle Busch on the way to a championship victory.

HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA — At the end of a riveting, breathtaking battle that had fans in the grandstands on their feet long after the checkered flag, Martin Truex Jr. held off Kyle Busch by .681 seconds at Homestead-Miami Speedway to win Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 and his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title.

In Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s last race in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Truex — one of Earnhardt’s closest friends — kept Busch behind him during a 34-lap green-flag run to the finish.

“It’s just overwhelming,” a tearful Truex said in Victory Lane. “To think about all the rough days and bad days, the days that we couldn’t run 20th, to be here — I never thought this day would come, and to be here is so unbelievable.”

The victory was a timely gift for Furniture Row Racing owner Barney Visser, who is back home in Denver, Colorado, recovering from a heart attack and subsequent bypass surgery. It was also a gift to Truex’s longtime girlfriend Sherry Pollex, who has been battling ovarian cancer.

“A lot of it was for her,” said Truex, who won for the first time at Homestead and the 15th time in his career.

ABOVE VIDEO: Congratulations, Martin Truex, Jr, on winning the 2017 NASCAR Cup Championship! SCD met with Martin at the Daytona 500 in February and supported Julie Spurlock in her battle against cancer.

ABOVE VIDEO: Last February Dale Earnhardt Jr. wished Brevard County’s own Julie Spurlock well in her battle with cancer. In his last race on Sunday, Earnhardt Jr., one of Truex’s closest friends — kept Busch behind him during a 34-lap green-flag run to the finish. 

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