As the checkered flag waved on the 2017 season Sunday night, Martin Truex Jr. became our newest champion. It has indeed been a season to remember for Truex who has risen in the past five years from just another driver to a Monster Energy Cup Series champion. This was a season to remember for Truex who compiled more wins this season than any season in the past.
Showing emotion as soon as he climbed out of the car, Truex described his win as ”overwhelming.” With a career that has seen its share of ups and down, Truex now has a reason to celebrate.
Martin Truex Jr. spoke to the media about how much this championship season has meant, not only for him personally but also for his girlfriend Sherry Pollex, as well as his team.
“A lot of it was for her,” said Truex, who won for the first time at Homestead and the 15th time in his career. “A lot of it was for me. A lot of it was for this team – just, I don’t even know what to say. We just never gave up all day long. We didn’t have the best car. I don’t know how we won that thing. Never give up. Dig deep.”
Battling Kyle Busch in the closing laps, Truex gave the top lane a try and held off Kyle Busch to score his eighth win of the season and his first Monster Energy Cup series championship.
Martin Truex Jr. celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19, 2017, in Homestead, Florida. Photo: Matt Sullivan/Getty Images.
Martin Truex Jr. 2017 season statistics.
Wins: 8
Top 5s; 19
Top 10s: 26
Average Start: 6.8
Average Finish: 9.4
There’s one thing I have zero tolerance for in the world of motorsports, and that’s when incompetence puts the safety of drivers at risk. NASCAR, your safety team needs a lot of work.
On Lap 142 of the Ford EcoBoost 400, Danica Patrick got loose in Turn 1, the result of a flat right-rear tire, and hit the wall, and was rear-ended by Kasey Kahne.
As she drove her car back to pit road, the caved-in right-front tire caught fire down the backstretch. She then decided to drive it to the garage, but the fire spread when she reached the entrance to the pits. She parked it and quickly exited the car.
From the moment the caution came out, her wheel was on fire for over a minute.
So a few questions come to mind:
Why did nobody from NASCAR tell her to stop the moment the wheel caught fire?
And don’t tell me they couldn’t. NASCAR has spotters manning the entire perimeter of the speedway, not to mention cameras trained on every inch of the track. They had to know this was happening. And if they don’t, that’s another major problem.
Why was a safety truck not tailing Patrick back, considering her car was on fire?
Again, someone from NASCAR should’ve sent a safety truck straight to her, one, to make sure her damaged car gets back to pit road, and two, to assist her extraction from the burning car. One belt strap doesn’t come undone, running the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 next season suddenly becomes the least of Patrick’s concerns.
And this isn’t the first time the safety team has come under fire.
Earlier this season, Kevin Harvick blasted them for their pitiful response time to his wreck at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“The worst part was the medical response. It took them forever to get to the car,” Harvick said. “I thought we made that better, but obviously we haven’t.”
But as Denny Hamlin revealed on Playoff media day back in September, it only got worse as the season progressed.
He told the story of how Aric Almirola’s ambulance that took him from his wrecked car at Kansas Speedway in May to the infield care center got lost.
“His ambulance got lost inside the race track and I mean, he had a serious injury,” Hamlin said. “So that was an issue, for sure. I know they’re trying to do the best they can. They’re not doing it every week, they’re just doing it when we come to town.
“People argue it should be the same team everywhere, others think that the ambulance crew should be familiar with just that racetrack.
“I don’t know what the correct answer is, but we for sure can get better because we’re not good right now.”
NASCAR, this farce you call a safety team has gone on long enough. This should’ve changed after Almirola’s mishap, and it needs to change now. And by change, I mean get an actual safety team, like IndyCar uses.
Sooner or later, this will get a driver seriously hurt, or killed.
Four years ago, Martin Truex Jr. sat on his front porch thinking his career was over. Four years later, he held off a hard charging Kyle Busch to win the Ford EcoBoost 400 and the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship.
When the final caution flew with 39 laps to go, everyone hit pit road for tires and fuel. Truex exited with the race lead.
It went back to green with 34 to go.
Busch was held up a few laps by Joey Logano, which, in his words, is what cost him in the end.
Once he passed Logano for third with 25 to go, he essentially hit the nitro button, because it took him only seven laps to run down and pass Kevin Harvick for second.
Five laps later, he caught up to Truex.
The gap between him and Truex went back and forth from 13 to go, until eight to go, when it remained around three-tenths of a second to the checkered flag.
“I don’t even know what to say,” a teary-eyed Truex said after getting out of his car. “We just never gave up all day long. We didn’t have the best car. I don’t know how we won that thing. Never give up, dig deep. I told my guys, ‘We’re gonna dig deeper than we ever have today.’ With 20 to go, I thought I was done. They were all better than me on the long run all day long. I just found a way. I found a lane that I could use and I found a lane that blocking enough of the air that they couldn’t use it. I just made it happen.”
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – NOVEMBER 19: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota, celebrates with teammates after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 19, 2017 in Homestead, Florida. Photo: Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
As Truex drove his car down the front stretch of Homestead-Miami Speedway, fans and pit crews lined along the outside pit wall to congratulate the journeyman his share of frustration, heartache and tragedy. Even Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race Director David Hoots told Truex, “Congrats, you finally did it.”
When he got out, he was swarmed by his overjoyed crew and he joined in the sea of emotion.
“It’s overwhelming. You think about all the rough days, the 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 unbelievable!
“I can’t believe it. I’ve wanted it since I was a little kid. Just never give up. Just never give up on your dreams, no matter what happens, or what kind of crap you go through. Thank you Barney (Visser). I wish you were here buddy.”
Busch finished second and Kyle Larson rounded out the podium.
“Yeah, that’s what happens when you lose in this format. But we gave it everything we had. We gave it our all. So congratulations to the 78 (Truex). They deserved it probably on every other race, but today, I thought we were better. Don’t matter though. They were out front when it mattered most. Just unfortunate for us that that caution came out and ruined our race strategy and we weren’t able to get back to where we needed to be and then I had to fight way too hard with some of those guys trying to get back up through there. But that’s racing.”
“Yeah, we had a great Credit One Bank Chevy today,” Larson said. “Throughout the first half especially. It seemed like the 18 and them guys were probably a little bit faster than me the first, I don’t know 15 laps a run and then I was really, really good. I was definitely better than them in front of me, but I was just stuck in their dirty air a little bit. I was going to race them, I just could never get close enough. I wanted to win the race bad, but a good way to end the year. It showed we had a lot of speed all year long and congrats to the No. 78 (Martin Truex, Jr.) team they were the class of the field all year. It is pretty neat to see the top three there they were the three best cars all season. I wish I could have been a part of the final four, but had a little bit of bad luck here lately. It’s nice to see a checkered flag, it’s been about a month since I’ve seen one. That was good and yeah, we will try and make our stuff even better than next year just fine tune on little things and try and come back even stronger. Hats off to everybody on my Chip Ganassi Racing team. They busted their tails throughout the off season and that prepared us to be good this year. Thanks to them and thanks to all of our other partners, Target, wish they were still with us, but we will miss them. Looking forward to our future with all of our other partners. Good year all-in-all.”
Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott rounded out the top-five.
“We just got really loose and then got a hole in the nose and it started to get tight in. We got that fixed,” Harvick said. “We were pretty good on the next-to-last run and we were just really loose on the last run. I want to thank everybody on my Jimmy John’s, Busch Ford for everything they’ve done. It was great to have a chance. We were in the mix all day. Didn’t quite have what we needed at the end. I want to thank Mobil 1, Hunt Brothers Pizza, Morton Building, Textron, everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing. Thank you guys for everything you did all year. We’ll be back.”
Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman rounded out the top-10.
RACE SUMMARY
Hamlin led the field to the green flag at 3:15 p.m., but didn’t lead a single lap as Truex quickly took the lead in Turn 1. He led the first 13 laps, before Larson passed him in Turn 1 to take it. Aside from one lap by Keselowski during the first stage break and Busch during a cycle of green flag stops on Lap 122, Larson lead from Lap 13 to Lap 160, sweeping the stages in the process.
Truex exited pit road during the second stage break with the race lead and led the field back to green on Lap 166. Busch swung around him through Turns 1 and 2 to take the lead on Lap 179.
Keselowski hit pit road with 69 laps to go. Truex and Harvick pitted a few laps later.
Rather than follow suit, Busch elected to stay out until 55 to 50 to go to get within the 55-lap fuel window to one-stop the rest of the race. His plan went up in flames when Kurt Busch spun out in Turn 3 and laid debris on track, bringing out the caution with 39 to go and setting up the run to the finish.
NOTES OF INTEREST
Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 25th in his final career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start.
Jimmie Johnson’s 27th-place finish ended his 13-year streak of winning at least one race in the Playoffs.
Danica Patrick brought out the third caution of the race on Lap 142 when she got loose and slammed the Turn 1 wall, and was rear-ended by Kasey Kahne. She finished 37th.
NUTS & BOLTS
The race lasted three hours, two minutes and 11 seconds, at an average speed of 131.900 mph. There were 13 lead changes among four different drivers and five cautions for 26 laps.
Martin Truex Jr. topped the chart in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 31.543 and a speed of 171.195 mph. Clint Bowyer was second in his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a time of 31.804 and a speed of 169.790 mph. Denny Hamlin was third in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 31.807 and a speed of 169.774 mph. Erik Jones was fourth in his No. 77 Furniture Row Toyota with a time of 31.817 and a speed of 169.721 mph. Ryan Blaney rounded out the top-five in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford with a time of 31.849 and a speed of 169.550 mph.
Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top-10. Brad Keselowski was 11th and Kevin Harvick rounds out the Playoff drivers in 18th.
Kyle Busch posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average of 164.681 mph.
Denny Hamlin topped the chart in second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 31.555 and a speed of 171.130 mph. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was second in his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 31.638 and a speed of 170.681 mph. Martin Truex Jr. was third in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota with a time of 31.761 and a speed of 170.020 mph. Kurt Busch was fourth in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a time of 31.850 and a speed of 169.545 mph. Kasey Kahne rounded out the top-five in his No. 5 HMS Chevrolet with a time of 31.958 and a speed of 168.972 mph.
Ryan Newman, Joey Logano, Trevor Bayne, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-10.
Kyle Busch was 16th and Kevin Harvick rounded out the Playoff drivers in 17th.
Hamlin posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 165.574 mph.
After posting a lap that was three-tenths faster than his closest competitor while he was on track, pole position all but belonged to Martin Truex Jr. But after time expired, Denny Hamlin edged him out by five-one thousandths of a second and took the pole for the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota won the pole with a final round time of 31.038 and a speed of 173.980 mph.
“We had him there by a little bit. I messed up (Turns) 3 and 4 by a bunch, but honestly a great run. We did great adjustments there in between runs. Our FedEx Camry was obviously very fast that last run.”
It’s his 26th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole.
Truex qualified second with a final round time of 31.043 and a speed of 173.952 mph.
“It was a good effort today by everyone on the Bass Pro Camry team. Just come here, (with) a lot of pressure, a lot going on. And to be able to stay focused, have a solid day was important. Definitely wished we could’ve been first, five thousandths away from that. But the first two rounds were really good and just missed it a little bit that last one. Proud of everybody. We outran the other three guys, which is good. But I don’t think it’s a big deal, because we were all pretty tight together and this is a track you can pass on. All and all, successful day, and one spot from where we wanted to be.”
Kyle Busch will start third with a final round time of 31.047 and a speed of 173.980 mph. Matt Kenseth will start fourth with a final round time of 31.272 and a speed of 172.678 mph. Brad Keselowski will round out the top-five starters with a final round time of 31.313 and a speed of 172.452 mph.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick and Daniel Suarez will round out the top-10 starters.
Ryan Blaney and Trevor Bayne will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying.
Kyle Busch topped the chart in first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 31.269 and a speed of 172.695 mph. Martin Truex Jr. was second in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota with a time of 31.299 and a speed of 172.529 mph. Kevin Harvick was third in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a time of 31.420 mph. Kyle Larson was fourth in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 31.539 and a speed of 171.217 mph. Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-five in his No. 11 Gibbs Toyota with a time of 31.606 and a speed of 170.854 mph.
Trevor Bayne, Jimmie Johnson, Michael McDowell, Kurt Busch and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top-10.
Brad Keselowski rounded out the Playoff drivers in 21st.
During the session, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s engine malfunctioned — “something broke,” as he put it on Twitter afterwards — and he’ll start the race from the tail-end of the field.
Larson posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 165.012 mph.
All three series head to Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend to crown their champions. The Camping World Truck Series finale will air on FS1 Friday evening, followed by the XFINITY Series race Saturday afternoon on NBCSN. Sunday the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will hit the track for the title event at 3 p.m. on NBC to determine its 2017 champion.
Please check below for the complete schedule of events. All times are Eastern.
Friday, Nov. 17
On-Track:
8:30-9:25 a.m.: World Truck S.ies Practice – FS1
10-10:55 a.m.: World Truck Series Final Practice – FS1
12:30-1:55 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – NBCSN
2:30-3:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series Practice – NBCSN
3:30 p.m.: Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
5-5:55 p.m.: XFINITY Series Final Practice – NBCSN
6:15 p.m.: Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – NBCSN
8 p.m.: Truck Series Ford EcoBoost 200 (134 laps, 201 miles) – FS1
Garage Cam: (Watch live) Noon: Cup Series
2 p.m.: XFINITY Series
Press Conferences: (Watch live)
10:20 a.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
11:30 a.m.: Joe Gibbs (Owner, Joe Gibbs Racing), Joe Garone (President, Furniture Row Racing), Tony Stewart (Owner, Stewart-Haas Racing) and Walt Czarnecki (Executive Vice President, Penske Corporation)
4:30 p.m.: Ron Hornaday Jr.
7:15 p.m. (approx.): Post-Cup Series qualifying, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski
10:15 p.m. (approx.): Post-Camping World Truck Series Race/Champion
Saturday, Nov. 18
On-Track
10-10:55 a.m.: Cup Series Practice – CNBC
11:15 a.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – CNBC
1-1:50 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – NBCSN
3:30 p.m.: XFINITY Series Ford EcoBoost 300 (200 laps, 300 miles) – NBCSN
Press Conference: (Watch live) 9:15 a.m.: NASCAR Partnership Announcement 12:20 p.m.: Jim Campbell (Chevrolet U.S. Vice President of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports), Dave Pericak (Global Director of Ford Performance) and Ed Laukes (Group Vice President, Marketing for Toyota Motor North America) 6 p.m. (approx.): Post-XFINITY Series Race/Champion
Sunday, Nov. 19 On-Track
3 p.m.: Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 (267 laps, 400.5 miles) – NBC
Press Conference: (Watch live) 11 a.m.: NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France and NASCAR President Brent Dewar 6:15 p.m. (approx.): Post-Cup Series Race/Champion
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Race Details:
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Race: Ford EcoBoost 200
Place: Homestead-Miami Speedway
Date: Friday, Nov. 17
Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 7:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 201 miles (134 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 40), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 80), Final Stage (Ends on lap 134)
NASCAR XFINITY Series
Race: Ford EcoBoost 300
Place: Homestead-Miami Speedway
Date: Saturday, Nov. 18
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN, 3 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 300 miles (200 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on lap 200)
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race: Ford EcoBoost 400 Place: Homestead-Miami Speedway Date: Sunday, Nov. 19 Time: 3 p.m. ET TV: NBC, 2:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 80), Stage 2 (Ends on lap 160), Final Stage (Ends on lap 267)
For most of his life, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has walked in the shadow of his famous father. Each victory has been celebrated while every misstep has led to the inevitable comparison to a legacy that is larger than life.
It’s not a path I would have chosen for my son. But Earnhardt embraced it, choosing to follow in his father’s footsteps. As a teenager, he had a clear vision of his future.
During an interview with the late Steve Byrnes in 1990, he said, “I want to be a racecar driver someday. It’s a great sport, I love it to death. It’s all I’ve ever known, racing.”
And, race he did.
In 1998 he won his first race in the Busch Grand National Series driving for his dad’s team. It was his 16th start in the series and as he crossed the finish line, Dale Jr. shared his excitement with his father, saying on the radio, “Daddy, I love you to death.”
His youthful exuberance was contagious, the bond between father and son undeniable. The possibilities, it seemed, were endless.
Earnhardt won back to back XFINITY Series championships in 1998-1999 before heading to the Cup Series full-time in 2000. And then, the unthinkable happened.
In February 2001, his father passed away after an accident on the final lap of the Daytona 500 and everyone looked to his son for comfort. Despite his heartbreak, Dale Jr. did what had to be done. He strapped into his racecar and went back to work, putting his own grief on hold so the healing could begin.
But NASCAR was still hurting, collectively holding their breath and wondering how to move forward after such a significant loss. When they returned to Daytona in July, Dale Jr. again led the way, driving to victory lane in a poignant celebration, and, in that moment, we finally exhaled.
Throughout Earnhardt’s career, we’ve watched him grow into one of the most beloved and respected drivers in NASCAR. He scored 24 victories in the Busch Series and he has claimed 26 victories in the Cup Series, including two Daytona 500s. NASCAR fans have voted for him as the most popular driver for 14 consecutive years and he will more than likely add one more to the total this season.
Though he has never captured the ultimate prize of a Cup Championship, it’s a career that will certainly land him in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Still, there will always be those that hold him to an unattainable standard.
It reminds me of Hank Williams Jr. who knew a few things about being compared to a famous father. In the song, ‘Living Proof’ he sang, “Why just the other night after the show an old drunk came up to me. He says you ain’t as good as your daddy, boy, and you never will be.”
However, no one could ever fill those shoes. His dad’s life cut short, a legend immortalized in time, will never be duplicated. Instead, Dale Jr. has crafted his own unique legacy.
And it extends well beyond the race track. He has left an indelible impression with his charitable contributions, his mentoring of younger drivers and the attention he has brought to concussion awareness.
How do you measure a man’s worth? For Earnhardt, it’s not about the number of trophies but about the quality of his character.
“I hope people just thought I was good and honest and represented the sport well, he recently said. “I hope people that work with me enjoyed working with me, whether it was in the late model ranks or whatever, and I hope the guys I raced against enjoyed racing with me. That’s really all that will matter. Hopefully, I left a good impression. I’ve had a lot of fun.”
In the end, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has done exactly what his father wanted him to do.
His dad was once asked how he kept his son grounded, and said, “He’s seen where we’ve came from, he knows the story. Material things are great but that’s not the important thing in the world. God and family, what people think about you is more important to me. To be able to take what he’s doing and make it work for him for the future but be a nice person as you go. That’s the important thing.”
Earnhardt’s humility, his passion for racing and his innate ability to connect with the fans has made him an invaluable asset to the sport. His impact on NASCAR will live on long after he steps out of a racecar and into a broadcast booth. But his absence from competition will leave a huge void that will be difficult, if not impossible to fill. It’s hard to imagine a NASCAR race without Dale Jr. but one thing is clear. It won’t be the same without him.
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With the final race of the 2017 Monster Energy Cup series looming, four drivers go into Homestead hoping to hoist the trophy come Sunday night.
Before the green flag waves on Sunday, here’s how the Championship 4 have fared at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
1. Kyle Busch
Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
Coming into Homestead, Kyle Busch will be one to keep your eye on. With one win coming back when Busch won the championship in 2015, he has shown he has what it takes to hoist the championship trophy when the checkered flag falls. In 12 starts in Homestead, Kyle Busch has an average start of 12.8 and an average finish of 19.8. Before the new championship format was introduced, Busch had only three top-10 finishes. With the stakes high this weekend, Busch hopes to recapture his 2015 dominance and win his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title.
2. Kevin Harvick
Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/NASCAR via Getty Images
With one win coming in his championship season, 2014, Kevin Harvick has statically had the best finishes out of the Championship 4 with an average finish of 6.9. Harvick didn’t really show his dominance this season until his first win of the season coming earlier in the year at Sonoma. In just three years at Stewart-Haas Racing, Harvick has been the face of the team grabbing Gene Haas and Tony Stewart their first championship in 2014.
Brad Keselowski
Photo Credit: Tom Pennington – Getty Images for NASCAR.
The 2012 season was the most memorable season for Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 team as he held off Jimmie Johnson to capture Roger Penske his first Monster Energy Cup Series championship. Heading into Homestead this weekend, Keselowski hasn’t shown his dominance of the 2012 season but nevertheless has had consistent finishes all year round.
Martin Truex Jr.
Martin Truex Jr. celebrates victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tales of the Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Photo: Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
Martin Truex Jr. heads into Homestead as the legitimate favorite as he has compiled seven wins this season, more than any season in the past. With three top-five finishes and seven top-10 finishes, Truex has an average finish of 12.3. Furniture Row Racing will be without team owner Barney Visser this weekend after he suffered a heart attack just two weeks ago. Heading into Homestead this weekend Truex looks to show his dominance of this season and bring Barney Visser his first NASCAR title.
