Martin Truex, Jr.
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| Born: | June 29, 1980 | |
| Birthplace: | Mayetta, New Jersey | |
| Achievements: | — | |
| Awards: | 2004 Busch Series Champion | |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics | ||
| Car #, Team | 1 - Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | |
| 2007 Sprint Cup Position: | 11th | |
| Best Cup Position: | 11th - 2007 (NEXTEL Cup) | |
| First Race: | 2004 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 (Atlanta) | |
| First Win: | 2007 Autism Speaks 400 (Dover) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 1 | 10 | 1 |
| NASCAR Nationwide Series Statistics | ||
| First Race: | 2001 MBNA.com 200 (Dover) | |
| First Win: | 2004 Sharpie Professional 250 (Bristol) | |
| Last Win: | 2006 Aaron's 312 (Talladega) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 13 | 56 | 10 |
| Statistics current as of May 26, 2008. | ||
Martin Lee Truex, Jr. (born June 29, 1980 in Mayetta, New Jersey) is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. He currently drives the #1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Truex won the Busch Series Championship in 2004 and 2005.
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[edit] Early career
Truex grew up in Stafford Township, New Jersey.[1] His father, Martin Sr., was a former race winner in the Busch North Series and a successful modified driver. Truex attended Southern Regional High School.[2]
The younger Truex began racing in the Busch North series in 2000, and won 3 races in 3 years with a family owned team.
Truex rented a home from Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in Mooresville, North Carolina, before he purchased his own home. His cousin, Curtis Truex, Jr., races modifieds at Wall Township Speedway and currently drives late-model stock cars in the southeastern U.S. for JR Motorsports, which is owned by Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Truex made his Busch Series start in 2001 at Dover International Speedway in his father's #56 XST Paintable Silicon Chevy. He started 19th but finished 38th after an early wreck. In 2002, Truex drove one race for Phoenix Racing at New Hampshire International Speedway, starting thirteenth but finishing 29th. He ran three races the rest of that season for his father, his best finish seventeenth at Dover.
[edit] NASCAR career
[edit] Busch Series
In 2003, he began the season with his father's team, before he was hired by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to drive his #81 Chance 2 Motorsports Chevy. He made his debut with Chance 2 at Richmond International Raceway, where he qualified sixth and led eleven laps before transmission failure forced him to a 31st place finish. He split time between Chance 2 and his father's team for the balance of the season, except at Dover, where he drove for Stanton Barrett. He had a sixth-place run at Bristol Motor Speedway, and ended the season with two consecutive second-place finishes. He ran a total of ten races that season.
Truex raced full time for Dale Jr. in 2004. At Bristol Motor Speedway, he would earn his first career victory, and he would later add 3 more victories over the next 7 races. This would include a victory at Talladega Superspeedway which broke his car owner's streak of winning restrictor plate races in the Busch Series, and a victory at the final NASCAR event held at Nazareth Speedway. He took the lead in the championship after Nazareth, but lost it to Kyle Busch a few races later. However, a series of top 5's and top 10's in the second half of the season would allow Truex to pull away from Busch, clinching the Busch Series championship with a race to spare. While on his way to that championship, Truex made an appearance in Nextel Cup as a relief driver to Dale Earnhardt Jr., who'd suffered burns in a sports car accident. Truex started his first career Cup race for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. at Atlanta Motor Speedway later that year, qualifying 33rd and finishing 37th.
Truex stayed in the Busch Series to defend his championship in 2005, winning the title for the second season in a row. He won the first NASCAR race held in Mexico, as well as defending his Busch wins at Talladega and Dover International Speedway. He took his first win at Daytona International Speedway on July 1st, 2005.
[edit] SPRINT Cup
Truex ran full-time in the 2006 NEXTEL Cup (now SPRINT cup) season in the #1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. He finished in the top 10 five times and finished the 2006 season 19th in points. Coming off of two consecutive Busch Series championships, Truex was widely considered to be a contender in the NEXTEL Cup Series. However, by his own admission, Truex's 2006 season had been somewhat disappointing. He was behind fellow rookies Denny Hamlin (who finished 3rd in points) and Clint Bowyer (who finished 17th in points). However, at 19th, he still had a respectable position for a rookie driver. Furthermore, Truex had a better later part of the 2006 season. He experienced a turnaround of sorts, finishing 6th, 11th, 5th and 2nd at Dover, Kansas, Talladega and Homestead, respectively. In 2006, he also made six starts in the Busch Series for Earnhardt, winning at Talladega.
[edit] 2007
On May 19, 2007, Martin won the NASCAR Nextel All-Star Open, securing a spot in the 2007 Nextel All-Star Challenge, where he finished 10th.
On June 4, 2007, Martin Truex Jr. won the Autism Speaks 400 scoring his first NEXTEL Cup Series win with an interval of seven seconds between himself and pole sitter Ryan Newman. Truex Jr. led over half of the race (219 of 400 laps). His performance led to a jump in overall points advancing him to 13th. He followed this performance at Dover with a third place finish at Pocono Raceway, and a second place finish at Michigan Speedway.
With the impending departure of Dale Earnhardt Jr. he will be the senior driver for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. in 2008, which is now a five-driver, four-car team, with Mark Martin and Aric Almirola alternating in the #01, in addition to the other two teams.
With a 15th place finish in the Chevy Rock and Roll 400, Truex clinched his spot in his first Chase for the Nextel Cup.
At the end of the 2007 season, he finished 11th in points just finshing outside the top 10.
[edit] 2008
Martin Truex, Jr., will be piloting the number 5 Chevrolet from JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series for selected races.
As of the Coca Cola 600, the 2008 season has been somewhat of a disappointment for Truex Jr. Dale Earnhardt Inc's engine problems which plagued Dale Earnhardt Jr's team in 2007 has continued to reek havoc in DEI. In the Samsung 500, Truex Jr. blew his engine and finished 36th. After 13 races of the 2008 season, Truex has only three Top 10's and one Top 5. He is currently 15th in points.
[edit] Career SPRINT Cup Statistics
| Year | Races | Wins | Poles | Top 5 | Top 10 | DNF | Finish | Start | Winnings | Season Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 34.5 | 34.0 | $116,150 | 70 |
| 2005 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 26.7 | 20.1 | $929,028 | 47 |
| 2006 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 20.8 | 21.2 | $4,193,119 | 19 |
| 2007 | 36 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 4 | 16.4 | 15.2 | $5,003,881 | 11 |
| 2008 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 18.9 | 17.4 | $946,136 | 17 |
| Totals | 88 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 21 | 17 | 23.5 | 21.6 | $11,188,314 | |
Data as of Apr 6, 2008 [3]
[edit] References
- ^ "Stafford Township native Truex Jr. looks for strong finish to NASCAR season", Press of Atlantic City, November 16, 2007. Accessed November 16, 2007. "Truex, a Stafford Township native, enters Sunday's race in 11th place in the standings."
- ^ McGee, Ryan. "As the new face of DEI, Truex Jr. weathers the storm", ESPN, August 20, 2007. Accessed February 27, 2008. "By the time Martin Jr. was a teenager, his driving talent was obvious, proven by a handful of regional and track championships. When he strode into Jerry Salvatore's shop class at Ocean County's Southern Regional High School, he began to learn the art of welding, too."
- ^ Yahoo Career Stats
[edit] External links
- Martin Truex Jr Rules!
- Racing Martin Truex
- MartinTruexJr.net
- NASCAR.com
- Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
- Martin's official site
- Truex talks about his 2004 Busch Series Championship plus other issues
- Martin Truex, Jr. Career Statistics
| Preceded by Brian Vickers |
NASCAR Busch Series Champion 2004, 2005 |
Succeeded by Kevin Harvick |
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| Dale Earnhardt, Incorporated | |
| Sprint Cup drivers | Regan Smith (#01) | Martin Truex, Jr. (#1) | Mark Martin/Aric Almirola (#8) | Paul Menard (#15) |
| Development drivers | Trevor Bayne | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Jesus Hernandez |
| Partnerships and affiliations | Richard Childress Racing | Jay Robinson Racing |
| Owners | Teresa Earnhardt |
