Sherry Pollex passes, NASCAR, Truex Jr. mourn; 'her legacy will live well beyond our lifetimes'

A sport largely headlined by rivalries, disagreements and differences came together on Sunday.

It was a morning of mourning.

Sherry Pollex, former girlfriend of Martin Truex Jr. with deep roots in NASCAR, succumbed to her near-decade-long battle with cancer. She was 44 years old.

The outpouring was massive with NASCAR releasing the following statement:

"NASCAR is saddened to learn of the passing of Sherry Pollex, whose fight against cancer and determination to help others through the Sherry Strong Foundation was an inspiration to all who knew her. NASCAR and the NASCAR Foundation’s thoughts and prayers are with Sherry’s family and friends."

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Pollex, whose father Greg owned an Xfinity Series team and won the series championship in 2000 with Jeff Green, was lauded for her charitable work in the fight against cancer. In 2010, she helped establish Catwalk for a Cause, combining NASCAR and fashion with proceeds donated to battle childhood cancer.

Truex Jr. and Pollex began dating in 2005 and through the Martin Truex Jr. foundation, backed several initiatives to combat both childhood and ovarian cancer, the latter of which Pollex was diagnosed with in 2014. The two split in January of this year after nearly 18 years together.

Truex offered the following statement:

“From the very minute of her diagnosis, Sherry was determined to not only fight ovarian cancer with everything she had, but also make a difference in the lives of others battling this terrible disease.

“Sherry’s passion for making a difference in the lives of others was inspiring to everyone. Through her tireless charity work for so many years, her legacy will live well beyond our lifetimes and continue to help countless families who are battling ovarian and childhood cancer.

“I would like to extend my deepest condolences to her entire family, who have shown incredible strength and resilience throughout her battle.”

Truex was just one of several who took to social media to express condolences on social media on Sunday. Below are some others.

Let’s go through the gears:

First gear: Denny Hamlin claps back at booing fans

Denny Hamlin doesn’t need any applause to clap back.

And boy, did he have a parting message for the boo birds at Bristol after a win Saturday night.

“Hey, I just beat your favorite driver,” Hamlin said.

And when asked which one?

“All of ‘em.”

ON THE POLL: Denny Hamlin bombarded with NASCAR boos at Bristol, but why is he reviled? Vote!

Hamlin, who’s had more than a few dustups with competitors in recent seasons, may take more pleasure in his feud with the fans than any he’s had on the track. But like him or not, the recent results speak for themselves.

And yet, Hamlin insists, it doesn't have to be this way.

"They think they bother me but clearly, it's having an opposite effect," Hamlin said. "So, I welcome any fan to want to come to the dark side. All five of my fans are still out there chanting my name, they're over in Turn 3 right now."

Second gear: Bubba Wallace advances again

Speaking of Bristol boos, Bubba Wallace heard his fair share as well and seemed equally unfazed.

“God I love that (expletive) right there,” he said. “All they’re doing is adding fuel to the fire. I love it.”

Wallace advanced through the Round of 16 with a 14^th-place finish on Saturday, much to the chagrin of his detractors. And after fighting in the regular-season finale at Daytona just to earn a playoff spot and now finding a way to get through, belief is high in the No. 23 camp.

“We battled hard and executed and that’s what you’ve got to do,” Wallace said. “We know next week is a reset. Just got to go out and have some fun and work our asses off.”

Third gear: Kevin Harvick, 'Missed by a mile'

On the other side, there was Kevin Harvick, who saw his run at a fairy tale championship in his final full-time season come to an end with a head-scratching 29^th-place finish. He was five laps down.

“We’ve been hit or miss and tonight we just missed by a mile,” Harvick said.

He seemed resigned to his fate in postrace interviews, pointing to a season full of mixed results and inconsistent performances.

“I didn’t really have many expectations as up and down as the year has been,” he added. “That’s probably about what we deserve.”

Fourth gear: Texas trends

Kyle Busch’s four wins are the most among active drivers at Texas. Tyler Reddick has the best career average finish there (6.8) and is the defending champion of Sunday’s event. Chevrolet has won four of the last five events at Texas including a pair of wins for Kyle Larson during that time.

NASCAR Round of 12 playoff standings

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Sherry Pollex dies, NASCAR world reacts; Hamlin, Bubba embrace boos