NASCAR Truck Series: Max Gutierrez pays touching tribute to his late brother on his return

NASCAR Truck Series driver Max Gutierrez had an emotional race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 20-year-old drove the race in honor of his younger brother Fico Gutierrez, who died in a highway accident on January 29.

The two brothers were injured in an accident in Mexico where 17-year-old Fico, lost his life. The incident left 20-year-old Gutierrez with a broken left ankle and void in his life.

Gutierrez made his fifth Truck Series start, with a photo of his brother on the dashboard and the rear bumper of his truck. His brother's logo adorned the hood of the truck. The Mexican driver also wore a necklace with his brother's photo on it. The #22 Ford had his brother's logo on the hood.

The Mexican driver spoke to NASCAR on Friday before the race:

"The recent weeks were difficult for sure, All of the family have been trying to find a positive way to handle this. And we find it — and that's why we are here. We are trying to do the next step."

Gutierrez entered the race in honor of his brother. The #22 AM Racing driver finished the race in the 21st position, in his debut outing at the track. He admitted it felt good to be back and went on to say that it would be an experience he would remember his entire life.

Max Gutierrez has a single-race contract with AM Racing for the ongoing season. He wanted to race at Daytona, but with the circumstances, he decided to race in Las Vegas. Gutierrez's family attended the race in which Max showed immense mental strength by taking the checkered flag.

Fico Gutierrez was also a racing driver, and the elder brother revealed their dream of racing each other in the higher echelons of NASCAR.

He added:

"It was a dream that me and my brother were trying to reach — his plan was to race against me in the NASCAR Cup Series. That was our plan. I was going to do everything I can to reach that goal for him and for me."

Gutierrez believes his brother will always be next to him in every race. Speaking about their bond, he said:

"He's going to be next to me and enjoy the ride and help me to stay out of trouble, He's next to me in my seat. He's going to be there the whole time. He was my little brother, and he was my best friend, too."

---

F1 champion returns to NASCAR

F1 superstar Kimi Raikkonen has announced his return to the NASCAR Cup Series. He will drive the #91 Chevrolet Camaro for Trackhouse Racing. The Finn driver returns to the Circuit of the Americas on March 26, the track where he won his last F1 race.

Speaking about his return to the track where he has eight starts in F1, he said:

"This time I get to race on a track I am familiar with, so there won't be as steep of a learning curve. I want to have fun but also do as well as we can."

With Raikkonen's return to NASCAR, fans all across the globe will tune in to watch the affable Finn hustle the next-gen cars.