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NASCAR shouts out Tyler Herro for rocking Martin Truex Jr. jacket ahead of NBA Finals Game 5

Nick Profile Picby:Nick Geddes•06/12/23•

NickGeddesNews

Tyler Herro
(Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro confirmed to the world Monday he is a big NASCAR fan, particularly of Martin Truex Jr.

Herro, making his return in Game 5 of the NBA Finals after being out since the first-round with a broken middle and ring finger, rolled into Ball Arena in Denver sporting a Truex Jr. jacket.

“The right jacket to wear for a big game,” NASCAR tweeted.

It’s a fitting wardrobe for Herro, as the Heat, down three games to one, are in need of a victory to extend the series against the Denver Nuggets. Truex Jr. set a tone Herro hopes to replicate, as the 2017 Cup Series champion raced his way to victory in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway in dominate fashion.

Truex Jr. took the lead from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin on Lap 33 in Stage 2. He would later lose the lead as a caution came out in the middle of green flag pit stops. It was a tough break, but not something that the No. 19 team couldn’t overcome. In fact, it just showed how strong their car really was on the day.

Martin Truex Jr. leaves field in the dust in victory at Sonoma

Kyle Busch went on to take the Stage 2 win, but Truex Jr. would bounce back and take the lead once again. The final stage was pretty much the No. 19 show. Truex Jr. led a race-high 51-of-110 laps to score his second victory of the season and 33rd of his career.

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“Hats off to my team,” Truex Jr. said after the race, via NASCAR.com. “To be so bad here last year and to come back and do that with the same car basically, it’s really unbelievable. Just proud of them. We’re having a great year. I feel really good about our team …

“Man, it just feels incredible to have a day like that and a run like that and a team like I have. They’re doing everything right, and it’s a lot of fun to drive these cars … This is why you go through years like we had last year. You just keep fighting. You never give up on it… Always believe in each other.

“We haven’t changed anything on our team other than parts and pieces. It’s just through a lot of hard work of a lot of people.”