Page 2236 – Official Site Of NASCAR

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Sitting in a director’s chair looking noticeably fit and unmistakably eager, Greg Biffle smiled often while answering questions from reporters about his expectations of his No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford team in 2016.

He was as upbeat as he’s sounded in years. And there is plenty of good reason.

Every driver does his best to be optimistic leading into the start of the season, but Biffle seemed and sounded — and frankly sold everyone — on a redemption year coming.

He’s got a new crew chief, Brian Pattie, who previously worked at Michael Waltrip Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing. NASCAR has a new rules package that Biffle likes, and his Roush Fenway Racing team has invested in a wide assortment of new engineers. It feels like a fresh start.

RELATED: More about Roush Fenway

So sitting up straight in his chair and making direct eye contact with those asking the questions, Biffle explained why he was more confident in the 2016 season than he has felt in years.

“I felt (winning the championship in) 2005 was a missed opportunity and two or three years proceeding that definitely was,” Biffle said. “You want to be in position to win and I do feel like we’re getting back to that now.

“You need some extraordinary circumstance in order to create that opportunity. A rule change, a change in body of the car, change in your organization — a re-organization and we sort of have all three of those going into 2016.

“We’ve got a new nose on the car, new crew chief, new car chief, new engineering, we’ve added people to the air department and a new rules package which proved better for all our cars not just me. We needed something like that to reignite our opportunity.”

Biffle will have plenty of opportunity this week to begin a year of vindication. He was a top-10 driver in the three practice sessions he participated in, including third fastest in the third practice on Wednesday.

He qualified 20th during front-row time trials last Sunday in the No. 16 KFC Nashville Hot Ford, and would have started 11th in Thursday night’s first Can-Am Duel. But instead, he will actually have to start his Ford last in the field serving a penalty for changing a rear gear during Wednesday practice.

In past years, that would probably have meant a headshake and a “not again,” comment, but Biffle — at 46 the oldest of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars — remains confident and optimistic. Asked about retirement and Biffle only smiled and shook his head. It’s not in the plans yet he insisted. There’s a title to win still.

All it takes is one victory to earn a position in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and Biffle has no doubts about expecting that.

He has 19 Cup victories and three top-five finishes in the final points standings, including that runner-up finish in 2005. But Biffle hasn’t won a race in two years — the longest span between victories in his 13-year Cup career.

Should — “when,” he would insist — Biffle earn a Cup title he would be the first driver in history to win all three of NASCAR’s major championships. He won the 2000 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the 2002 NASCAR XFINITY Series titles.

“We were optimistic over the offseason and then the first part of 2015 it was painfully obvious we were a long way off,” Biffle reflected. “It’s painfully difficult because I love success and that opportunity and when you know six weeks from now when I go to that race track, I don’t have a chance of winning. That is difficult.

“It takes a long time to climb that ladder back up. But when you have changes like we do between 2015 and 2016 that can shorten up that ladder a lot.

“Maybe we’ve caught up to the other teams. So we catch up, they have to adjust to a new package and we have new people and we’re hungry. That could level the playing field very quickly.”

For his part, Biffle looks extremely fit and acknowledged physical training is now an important aspect of his life and his racing preparation – it’s something he has devoted more attention to.

“I’m in better shape now than I was five years ago I can certainly tell you that and that’s something that won’t hurt in the car,” Biffle said. “I got my butt into the gym and started paying attention to what I eat. You get comfortable. … our sport is a lot different that other sports. But you have to be in some level of conditioning to do what we do.”

What Biffle most wants is to hoist the one NASCAR trophy that has eluded him. As he discussed his high expectations and fielded questions about the new-look team, Biffle truly looked as prepared and enthusiastic as he ever has.

Someone in the group of reporters asked him about being the “oldest full-time driver,” and Biffle smiled, looking unaware of that news.

For him, it’s really not a question of age or experience, but desire.

“It’s really just the enthusiasm,” Biffle said, pausing to really think about the subject. “Change is good in our sport, it re-energizes people. They want to work harder.”

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Staff Report

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A move by Jamie McMurray and a sudden lack of real estate for Jimmie Johnson will send Matt Kenseth from the front row to the back of the field when Sunday’s 58th running of the Daytona 500 gets underway Sunday at Daytona International Speedway.

Kenseth (Joe Gibbs Racing) locked in the No. 2 qualifying spot in Coors Light Pole qualifying last Sunday. But a crash at the end of the second Can-Am Duel qualifying race on Thursday sent him, along with Johnson, Martin Truex Jr. and AJ Allmendinger, to the infield care center.

None were injured. All were disappointed.

Kenseth’s team will be one of those rolling out a backup entry for Sunday’s race, a move that means he’ll have to drop to the rear for the car swap.

“I don’t know if starting in the back is as big of a deal as losing your car; that’s the second one we’ve lost this week,” said Kenseth, who also lost a car in Saturday night’s Sprint Unlimited non-points race at DIS. “I think we’re probably down to our third-string car. This car was obviously really, really fast.

“I don’t know what they have in the trailer for the next car. That’s the worst part. Starting in the back … if you can’t get to the front in three and a half or four hours, you have an issue.”

With Kyle Busch leading and the leaders headed into Turn 1 for the final time, McMurray moved low, then shot high in an attempt to take the lead. But by then, Johnson was already moving up on the outside.

MORE: Busch: ‘It went kind of crazy behind me’

“He never touched my quarter,” McMurray said of the incident with Johnson. “I don’t know if it was a disturbance in the air. … I really don’t know. It’s hard to tell looking at the replay what happened.

“I didn’t want anyone on the outside because if you got stuck on inside it was bad all around. I was trying to fake out the 18 to get to his outside. My car stalled out and I didn’t have anything. It was hard to break the plane of the car in front you especially running single file like we did tonight.”

Johnson (Hendrick Motorsports) said McMurray “tried to put a move on the 18 and left the bottom in a hurry to come up and block my run. I was just out there.

“I could see with his aggression how fast he was coming up that our line was going to take me into the wall. I tried to check up and get out of there and it just didn’t work out and it took me up into the outside wall a little bit, turned me down across the field. Just a block that didn’t turn out, I was out there and unfortunately it just turned us around.”

Johnson, twice a winner of the Daytona 500, will be breaking in a backup entry as well when practice gets underway Friday. It shouldn’t be an issue, the six-time series champion said.

“The guys were real confident about our backup selection so I feel good about it,” he said. “I was asking what our strategy was here, if we needed to protect. Chad (Knaus, crew chief) of course wanted me to but he said, ‘Go race, we’ve got a great one sitting in the truck’ so we’ll take advantage of the next couple of practice sessions to dial this one in.”

Busch took the checkered flag as the race ended under caution, with McMurray (Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates) and Kurt Busch (Stewart-Haas Racing) second and third respectively.

Johnson, credited with a 13th-place finish, placed no blame on McMurray for the incident.

“Man, we’re racing,” he said. “It’s hard to put a lot of blame on somebody when you’re making split-second decisions.”

Kurt Busch and Danica Patrick were also involved in the late crash, but neither will be going to a backup car for Sunday’s season-opening race.

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Staff Report

MORE: Full Practice 2 results

Spencer Gallagher led Thursday’s final practice ahead of Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

Gallagher, running just six laps in the late afternoon session, paced the field with a best speed of 188.135 mph. He was followed closely by Timothy Peters at 188.029 mph. Peters topped the opening session at 189.028 mph for the best speed of the day.

Defending race winner Tyler Reddick was third on the charts at 187.946 mph, followed by ThorSport Racing teammates Rico Abreu (185.778 mph) and Matt Crafton (185.647 mph).

Tune in Friday night for the NextEra Energy Resources 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1).

MORE: Full Practice 1 results

Veteran driver Timothy Peters topped the opening NASCAR Camping World Truck Series action of the 2016 season, pacing the first of two practices Thursday at Daytona International Speedway.

Peters logged a best speed of 189.028 mph in his 23 laps around the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Ben Rhodes and teammate Ben Kennedy were right on his tail, with speeds of 188.687 mph and 188.644 mph, respectively. Grant Enfinger (making his first NCWTS appearance since 2012) was next on the charts at 188.399 mph, followed by Johnny Sauter at 188.383 mph to round out the top five.

A handful of minutes into the session, Scott Lagasse ran over a piece of debris on his first lap, sending his No. 14 Chevrolet into the outside wall, taking heavy damage and halting the field.

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Staff Report

RELATED: Full practice results

Making a single-car run around Daytona International Speedway, Jimmie Johnson topped the leaderboard in Thursday’s final practice ahead of tonight’s Can-Am Duel races (7 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET, FS1). Johnson whirled his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at a rapid 193.054 mph around the 2.5-mile speedway.

“Definitely some good gains for the Lowe’s Chevrolet there,” Johnson told FS1 after his strong run.

The 55-minute practice was dominated by single-car runs, with the exception of new Richard Petty Motorsports teammates Aric Almirola and Brian Scott. Scott and Almirola came in second and third, respectively, on the leaderboard, posting identical speeds (189.897 mph) and times (47.394-second lap).

Ty Dillon ranked fourth on the speed charts in his No. 95 Chevrolet (189.837 mph), while Ryan Newman wheeled his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet at 189.697 mph to round out the top five.

Kyle Larson — who was sixth-fastest (189.362 mph) — debuted a new No. 42 Chevrolet on track today, as his original ride was heavily damaged in a wreck during yesterday’s practice.

With the Duels tonight, only seven cars went on-track for the day’s final practice.

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Staff Report

The field for the Daytona 500 was set Thursday night following the Can-Am Duel races, as was running the order.

The front row of Chase Elliott and Matt Kenseth was determined after qualifying last Sunday, and the 39th and 40th positions of Michael McDowell and Robert Richardson Jr. was due to those two being Open teams that clinched via qualifying speeds.

Spots 3-38 were settled under the lights, with the finishing order of Duel 1 claiming the inside row (1-3-5, etc.) and the finishing order of Duel 2 claiming the outside row (2-4-6, etc.).

Daytona 500 lineup

Pos.	Car	Driver	Team
1.	24	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports
2.	20	Matt Kenseth	Joe Gibbs Racing
3.	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Hendrick Motorsports
4.	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing
5.	22	Joey Logano	Team Penske
6.	1	Jamie McMurray	Chip Ganassi Racing
7.	21	Ryan Blaney	Wood Brothers Racing
8.	41	Kurt Busch	Stewart-Haas Racing
9.	4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing
10.	19	Carl Edwards	Joe Gibbs Racing
11.	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing
12.	95	Ty Dillon	Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing
13.	5	Kasey Kahne	Hendrick Motorsports
14.	42	Kyle Larson	Chip Ganassi Racing
15.	16	Greg Biffle	Roush Fenway Racing
16.	10	Danica Patrick	Stewart-Haas Racing
17.	34	Chris Buescher	Front Row Motorsports
18.	14	Brian Vickers	Stewart-Haas Racing
19.	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Roush Fenway Racing
20.	93	Matt DiBenedetto	BK Racing
21.	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing
22.	46	Michael Annett	HScott Motorsports
23.	6	Trevor Bayne	Roush Fenway Racing
24.	38	Landon Cassill	Front Row Motorsports
25.	2	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske
26.	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports
27.	7	Regan Smith	Tommy Baldwin Racing
28.	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Furniture Row Racing
29.	23	David Ragan	BK Racing
30.	47	AJ Allmendinger	JTG Daugherty Racing
31.	15	Clint Bowyer	HScott Motorsports
32.	13	Casey Mears	Germain Racing
33.	32	Bobby Labonte	Go Green Racing
34.	43	Aric Almirola	Richard Petty Motorsports
35.	44	Brian Scott	Richard Petty Motorsports
36.	83	Michael Waltrip	BK Racing
37.	27	Paul Menard	Richard Childress Racing
38.	31	Ryan Newman	Richard Childress Racing
39.	59	Michael McDowell	Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing
40.	26	Robert Richardson Jr.	BK Racing

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Staff Report

The two-round, single-car qualifying that took place Feb. 14 at Daytona International Speedway set the front row for the Daytona 500 (Feb. 21, 1 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Chase Elliott (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) earned the pole and Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) will join him on the front row after posting the second fastest qualifying speed.

The two will start from the pole in their respective Can-Am Duel races on Thursday night (first duel is 7 p.m. ET, FS1; second duel is approximately 9 p.m. ET, FS1).

The Can-Am Duels will set the remaining starting spots and the field for the 58th running of the “Great American Race.”

WHO IS IN THE FIELD?

The Charter system has locked in 36 of the 40 spots. That means the four remaining spots in the field will go to Open, non-Charter teams. There are eight Open teams attempting to qualify for the Daytona 500. | READ MORE: Which 36 teams have Charters?

Two of the four spots for Open teams were locked up in single-car qualifying based on which Open teams were the fastest: Ryan Blaney (No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford) and Matt DiBenedetto (No. 93 BK Racing Toyota). These two drivers are guaranteed spots in the Daytona 500 field.

HOW CAN AN ‘OPEN’ TEAM STILL GET IN?

That leaves two spots up for grabs among the six remaining Open teams yet to lock themselves into the field.

The top finisher among the Open teams in each Duel will earn a spot in the Daytona 500. Should that be Blaney (in Duel 1) and/or DiBenedetto (in Duel 2), then the guaranteed spot based on qualifying speeds would move to the next fastest Open team in qualifying. Michael McDowell (No. 59 Leavine Family Racing Ford) and Robert Richardson Jr. (No. 26 BK Racing Toyota) have the next fastest speeds.

The other Open teams in the mix to make the field are: Cole Whitt (No. 98 Premium Motorsports Toyota), David Gilliland (No. 35 Front Row Motorsports Ford), Josh Wise (No. 30 The Motorsports Group Chevrolet) and Reed Sorenson (No. 40 Hillman Racing Chevrolet). These four must qualify via the Can-Am Duels.

HOW IS THE 40-CAR LINEUP SET?

For the Daytona 500, Elliott and Kenseth will be on the front row. Starting spots 3 through 38 will be determined by the results of the Duels. Drivers in the first Duel race will line up on the inside row for the Daytona 500 (odd-number starting position), based on the order in which they finish the Duel race. Drivers in the second Duel race will line up on the outside row for the the Daytona 500 (even-number starting positions), based on the order in which they finish the Duel race. For example, the winner of the first Duel (if not Elliott), will line up third; the winner of the second Duel (if not Kenseth) will line up fourth and so on.

The top Open team finisher in each Duel will make the 500 field. Should the top Open finisher in a Duel have also posted one of the top two speeds in qualifying among Open teams (Blaney or DiBenedetto), the Duel result is accepted and the next fastest Open car in qualifying would make the field. The final two starting spots in the field, spots 39 and 40, will go to the two Open teams that made the field based on qualifying speed.

WHAT IF THE DUELS ARE RAINED OUT?

If both Duels are canceled due to weather, officials will use qualifying results to determine the four Open teams that would advance. In this case that would be Blaney, DiBenedetto, McDowell and Richardson.

Should only the second Can-Am Duel be canceled due to weather, the highest finishing Open team from the first Duel would earn a starting berth, with the remaining three positions determined based on qualifying results.

In the event of a rain out, the full field will be set according to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rule Book.

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Zack Albert

PHOTOS: Dale, Junior and every 500 winner | Closest finishes

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — After a day of outpouring on social media remembering the legendary Dale Earnhardt on the 15th anniversary of his passing, his son provided the perfect capper.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s victory in the opening Can-Am Duel at Daytona International Speedway assured the Hendrick Motorsports driver a starting spot up front in Sunday’s 58th annual Daytona 500, a race he’s won twice. But it also conjured up plenty of fond memories of racing at the track where Earnhardt lost his life in a crash on Feb. 18, 2001.

“It’s real special. I was thinking about that,” he said. “I try not to make too big a deal. I’ve told all you guys in interviews we’ve done how much I like people to remember Dad, talk about Dad. It really warms my heart to see the stuff on social media and so forth. That’s probably my best way to gauge the reaction to a day like this. You see a lot of people mention him, even the Braves and all that stuff. It’s pretty cool.”

Earnhardt led twice for 43 of the 60 laps, snaring his fifth victory in Daytona 500 qualifying races at the historic 2.5-mile track. It was another show of muscle by the No. 88 Chevrolet nicknamed “Amelia,” the entry that came home first in last year’s main event.

While the competition goals were clear-cut for the Hendrick Motorsports driver, Earnhardt Jr. said that he had some admittedly selfish motivations in the 500 preliminary.

“I was daydreaming a little bit,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I’m guilty of daydreaming a little bit about winning this race tonight because of the day. That was special to me. Glad nothing bad happened, that we didn’t tear our car up, because that would have been embarrassing on a day like this.”

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Zack Albert

MORE: Full starting lineup for 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — As his car idled on pit road before the pace laps, Michael McDowell keyed his radio for a quick prayer before the first of Thursday’s two Can-Am Duel qualifying races for the Daytona 500.

His Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing team’s reply: “Amen, brother. Let’s do this thing tonight.”

McDowell’s prayers were answered Thursday night with a 14th-place finish, good enough to clinch a starting berth in Sunday’s 58th annual Great American Race (1 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM). McDowell joined eventual third-place finisher Ryan Blaney among the open, non-chartered teams to qualify for the 40-car field in the first 150-miler.

In the second race, teammates Matt DiBenedetto and Robert Richardson Jr. claimed the remaining Daytona 500 starting spots, placing all four BK Racing Toyotas into the feature race.

The result of the first Duel places two cars from the newly merged stable of Circle Sport and Leavine Family in the 500 field. Ty Dillon will start the Daytona 500 in the team’s chartered No. 95 Chevrolet.

“You all know what it means to be in the 500,” McDowell said. “I’ve been on the other side, too, where I’ve been loading up, too, and going home on a Thursday night. I definitely appreciate it when we make the races. …

“To really start out the year well, it’s very important. This is such a huge race. It was nerve‑wracking. It wasn’t an easy one by any means. Pretty much how it goes, you have a plan, you make a plan, then it all changes when you get out there. Tonight was no different than that.”

Josh Wise, Cole Whitt, David Gilliland and Reed Sorenson failed to qualify for the Daytona 500.

McDowell’s run into the field was not an easy one. Blaney was assured a starting berth based on his qualifying speed in Sunday’s Coors Light Pole Qualifying, but was still eligible to claim one of the at-large transfer spots as the highest finisher among the four open teams.

When Blaney made an unscheduled pit stop with a loose wheel and a vibration near the midway point, the race for an at-large spot was wide open. McDowell and Whitt diced side by side for several laps through the middle portions of the 60-lapper.

Once the field made the only exchange of green-flag pit stops, McDowell emerged as the leading open driver, but by himself without any aerodynamic help. Whitt, with minimal aero help in a three-car draft, closed quickly on McDowell, who watched his mirror and disrupted his advances. Whitt spun, damaging his Premium Motorsports No. 98 entry as it scraped along the Turn 1 apron.

Whitt wound up in last place as the qualifying race’s earliest retiree, parked 11 laps from the finish. Earlier in Speedweeks, the Premium team announced it had leased its Charter, which would have clinched a berth in the 500, to the HScott Motorsports No. 46 team and driver Michael Annett.

“If we passed him we’re in the Daytona 500. If I fell behind him, we were probably going to ride behind him for the rest of the race,” said Whitt. “It’s just too hard to pass with the single amount of cars we had, and his car was a lot better than ours. Just tried to do what I could and it didn’t work out.”

Thursday night’s second 150-mile Duel was far less eventful around the transfer position. DiBenedetto was assured a starting berth on the basis of his speed in Sunday’s Coors Light Pole Qualifying, but snagged the at-large spot with a ninth-place run in the second Duel.

That left the final spot based on qualifying time to Richardson, who two weeks ago was working the hay pastures at his ranch in Pilot Point, Texas, just north of Texas Motor Speedway when the phone call for the No. 26 ride materialized.

“Very blessed, very honored to be here,” said Richardson, who finished 18th as the first driver one lap down in Duel 2. “This’ll be my second opportunity to run the Daytona 500, but this one’s a lot more special.”

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — By his own admission, Daytona’s Speedweeks last year was a struggle for then-rookie Daniel Suarez. His role in a multicar crash during qualifying and another pileup during the season-opening race did not win points with his new NASCAR XFINITY Series brethren.

One year later, it’s a much more buoyant and respected Suarez in the Daytona International Speedway garage. The Mexican-born driver has a year of experience and improvement on his resume as he kicks off his second full XFINITY season in Saturday’s PowerShares QQQ 300 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“I feel like right now, we are a different driver and a different race team,” Suarez said Tuesday at NASCAR Media Day, chalking up his 2015 missteps here to inexperience. “We know where we need to be. Our confidence level is different as well, so I really feel really good. I really feel like right now from one year to right now we have made a lot of ground, so really looking forward to trying to make something different on this superspeedway.”

RELATED: Paint schemes for Daytona

After such a shaky start last February, Suarez hatched a successful Sunoco Rookie of the Year campaign, finishing fifth in the drivers’ standings. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver turned in top-five efforts at short tracks, 1-mile layouts and intermediate-sized circuits, but none in the three superspeedway events (two at Daytona, one at Talladega).

Though he did cash in with his first Coors Light Pole Award when the series returned to Daytona in July, Suarez still said he had plenty to learn on the sport’s biggest ovals.

“I really was thinking during the offseason about how to be successful at this race track, how to be good at it,” Suarez said. “I just really think that last year, 2015 we were learning about so many race tracks and learning about everything, but in superspeedways I just feel like I was stuck a little bit, so I did a lot of homework to try to learn more about superspeedways, how to work on superspeedways, how to be a little bit better and I’m really looking forward to trying to be more successful on superspeedways than what I did last year.”

Suarez, 24, plans to concentrate on vying for the XFINITY championship, but will again split time in the Camping World Truck Series with plans for a 13-race schedule — the same number that he ran last year in an effort to gain valuable time behind the wheel. But there’s also been preliminary talk, he admits, about a potential move up the ladder to the Sprint Cup Series in the future as part of JGR’s rich crop of development drivers.

“Yeah, we have had that conversation a little bit here, a little bit there,” Suarez says, “but at the end of the day, I’m one of those drivers that thinks if we do our job with what we are doing right now the future is going to take care of itself. Yeah, we’ve had a little bit of those conversations — nothing for sure, really — but I really think the most important deal right now for us is the NASCAR XFINITY Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.”

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Zack Albert

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The tale of Martin Truex Jr.’s Daytona Speedweeks trip still has a few chapters to be written. But however his season-opening race turns out, Truex has already told his most important story.

Truex’s byline graced The Players Tribune on Monday, documenting girlfriend Sherry Pollex’s fight with ovarian cancer and how it impacted their relationship. The 35-year-old driver’s heartfelt first-person account — titled “The Fight of Our Lives” — comes just weeks after Pollex completed a 17-month course of chemotherapy treatment.

With that stage of the fight behind them, Truex said the next logical step was to raise awareness to help others wage their own battle against cancer.

“She’s going to kind of be a spokesperson for the disease and she wants to help other people and spread the word about it and try to get more funding for research and all those type of things,” Truex said Tuesday at NASCAR Media Day, “So it was kind of a good time to get our story out there, explain how it went and kind of get the ball rolling on what we’re going to try and do as far as the awareness side and the research side about trying to help other women and other people with this disease.”

Truex established his foundation in 2007 to help combat children’s issues, specifically pediatric cancer. When Pollex was diagnosed with the disease in 2014, the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation expanded its reach to help women affected by ovarian cancer as well. The foundation’s annual Catwalk for a Cause helped raise more than $250,000 in contributions last year.

Truex’s article this week was an extension of the foundation’s goals, but it also helped to tell their story — both from her perspective and his.

“On my side of it, it’s about kind of teaching husbands and sons and just whoever from the man’s point of view on how to deal with it,” Truex said, “So we’ve kind of retooled our foundation a bit to focus on not only childhood cancer, which we’ve always done — pediatric cancer — but also now we’re going to put a lot of effort and emphasis in ovarian cancer, so all those things kind of go together and that timing was part of it.

“The rest was just — that was our story. That’s the story how it went for me and that’s how I wanted to get it out there.”

Truex joins the ranks of fellow NASCAR drivers Kyle Busch and Danica Patrick as contributors to The Players Tribune, which features content penned from a professional athlete’s point of view. Just 24 hours after his article’s publication, Truex said the reception has been overwhelmingly positive.

“I think that it hit home with a lot of people because a lot of people have unfortunately dealt with similar battles,” Truex said. “It just kind of shows what we’ve been through.”