CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ NASCAR driver Martin Truex Jr. and his girlfriend, Sherry Pollex, sank into each other's arms in celebration in Victory Lane after last year's Coca-Cola 600.
Tears rolled down Pollex's cheeks as cameras flashed all around her and Truex.
She leaned a little into him for support, feeling the weight of everything they had accomplished.
Truex had finally won at a track that irked him so often earlier in his career _ setting the record for laps led in a race as he did it.
Pollex had just finished a grueling and physically devastating surgery and 18 months of chemotherapy to treat ovarian cancer.
In Victory Lane with Truex, the public _ and national television audience _ saw Pollex in remission and without the wig she had worn since potent chemo treatments had made her lose her hair.
"It was a special moment just knowing that she was healthy and doing well, and that we were both back on track," Truex said.
Sunday, they return to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600.
"The 600 will always have a special place in our heart," Pollex said. "That feeling of just, 'Yes, finally. After all of that, something is going to go our way.'"
Charlotte will again carry enormous weight. Truex has two victories this season, but the couple's fight to keep her healthy is ongoing a year and a half into remission.
