19.05.12
HOMESTEAD, Fla.
Tyler Harris' bedspread is black and his bedroom curtains are red - Tony Stewart's colors. The pillowcases are checkered flags. Pictures of Tyler and Tony dot the walls.
Tyler will sit in his home in Iowa and watch today's NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale while wearing a shirt autographed by Tony, and for a few hours he won't think about the tumor in his brain. It's the second time Tyler has had brain cancer.
Tyler is 12.
In another house, in another state, Sam Russell will head to a friend's house to watch today's race and cheer for Carl Edwards - the other driver who can win NASCAR's premiere championship and Sam's childhood friend.
Russell and Edwards rode bikes and hung out when they were young. Their careers sent them in different directions but they reunited in a hospital room in 2007 after a mountain biking accident left Russell a paraplegic.
Russell is 32; his daughters are 5, 7 and 9.
While many fans will cheer for Edwards or Stewart in their championship battle, today has extra significance for Tyler and Sam because of their connection to the contenders.
Source: The Virginian-Pilot