Kurt Busch May Have Dominated, But Truex Was The Man

When it comes to manning up for a race, you can't get much tougher than Martin Truex, Jr.

In a day totally dominated by "The Blue Deuce" of Kurt Busch, Truex finished in the #10 spot.

It's a wonder he could even race at all. Just the day before, Truex was taken by ambulance to a Griffin, Ga. emergency room after suffering from what were described as "bouts of intense pain". The diagnosis? Kidney stones.

Truex was cleared to race on Sunday, and race he did.

Competitive for all of The Kobalt Tools 500, Truex improved his 23rd starting spot to end the race in the top ten. Give credit to prescription painkillers if you must, but tough-as-nails Truex earned his best finish of the year so far.

Unfortunately, physical ailments weren't the only thing the driver had to suffer this weekend. The state of his kidney stones made for many a pun during pre-race coverage, including the particularly painful "Martin Makes the Pass."

At least the folks at FOX didn't show us an X-ray.