Martin Truex Jr. Bio
Martin Lee Truex Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. He is the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion and a two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, winning back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005. He most recently competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 56 Toyota Camry XSE for Tricon Garage, and was recognized as one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023.
Across more than two decades in NASCAR’s top national touring series, Truex built a reputation as one of the most consistent and clutch performers of his era. He is widely known for his strong runs in NASCAR’s crown jewel events, including Coca-Cola 600 victories in 2016 and 2019 and a Southern 500 win at Darlington in 2016.
Early Life and Background
Martin Lee Truex Jr. was born on June 29, 1980, in Mayetta, New Jersey, a small community in Stafford Township. He grew up in a family with deep ties to stock car racing, including his father Martin Truex Sr., a former race winner in what was then known as the Busch North Series. His mother, Linda Truex, raised the family in southern New Jersey, where the younger Truex developed an early love of cars and competition.
He attended Southern Regional High School in Manahawkin, New Jersey, graduating in 1998. As a teenager, Truex began his racing career driving go-karts at New Egypt Speedway in Ocean County, when the track was still paved. The short-track experience he gained there helped shape the disciplined, patient driving style he would carry into the national NASCAR ranks.
Racing ran in the family, and several relatives shared his path. His younger brother, Ryan Truex, became a two-time champion in the ARCA Menards Series East and competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing. His uncle Barney Truex raced part-time in the Whelen Modified Tour in the 1980s, and cousins Curtis Truex Jr. and Tyler Truex are active in late model racing.
Path to NASCAR
Truex moved up to the Modified division at Wall Stadium Speedway in 1998, the year he turned 18 and was finally eligible to race a car under New Jersey regulations. He spent just one season there before relocating south to pursue a national NASCAR career. In 2000, he moved to Mooresville, North Carolina, initially renting a home from Dale Earnhardt Jr., a connection that would later prove pivotal to his Cup Series opportunities.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Truex began competing in the Busch North Series, running three full seasons from 2000 to 2002 and making limited starts in 2003. Driving a family-owned No. 56 SeaWatch Chevy, he collected 13 poles and five wins, numbers that caught the eye of established NASCAR teams and set the stage for his transition to the Busch (now Xfinity) Series national schedule in 2001.
His big break came in 2003 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. hired him to drive the No. 81 Chance 2 Motorsports Chevy in the Busch Series. The partnership produced immediate results, and by 2004 Truex had become one of the top young talents in the garage. That same year, he made his first NASCAR Cup Series start as a relief driver for Earnhardt Jr., who was recovering from a sports car accident, opening the door to a full-time national career.
Martin Truex Jr. Career
Early Career (2001–2005)
Truex made his first Busch Series start in 2001 at Dover International Speedway, driving his father’s No. 56 Chevy. After a learning year in 2002, when he ran a handful of races split between Phoenix Racing and his family team, he ran 10 events in 2003 for Chance 2 Motorsports and posted a sixth-place run at Bristol Motor Speedway and two consecutive runner-up finishes to close the season.
In 2004, Truex raced full-time for Chance 2 and broke through with his first career victory at Bristol Motor Speedway. He added three more wins over the next seven races, including a victory at Talladega Superspeedway and the final NASCAR event ever held at Nazareth Speedway. A string of top-five and top-ten finishes in the second half of the season allowed him to clinch the Busch Series championship with a race to spare, edging rookie Kyle Busch. He successfully defended the title in 2005, winning the first Busch Series points race ever held outside the United States in Mexico, plus Talladega, Dover, and his first Daytona International Speedway win on July 1, 2005.
Xfinity Series Breakthrough (2004–2005)
Truex’s 2004 and 2005 Busch Series championships established him as one of the top young drivers in the country. The two titles came with a sweep of the Busch Series Most Popular Driver Award in 2004 and 2005, reflecting his growing connection with fans. His 2005 season was particularly strong, with multiple wins and consistent stage-leading performances that set the tone for the rest of his career.
Although he shifted his primary focus to the Cup Series after 2005, Truex continued to make occasional Xfinity Series starts. In March 2021, he made his return to the series with Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his first Xfinity start since 2010. The cameo was part of a broader plan to sharpen his road-course and dirt-racing skills, and he continued to make limited Xfinity appearances for Joe Gibbs Racing in select events.
Cup Series at Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (2006–2008)
Truex moved to the No. 1 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) Chevy full-time in the Nextel Cup Series in 2006, finishing nineteenth in points with two top-five results. His breakthrough came in 2007, when he won the Autism Speaks 400 by more than seven seconds over Ryan Newman after leading 216 of 400 laps. The win propelled him to a Chase for the Sprint Cup berth, where he finished eleventh in the final standings.
He did not return to victory lane in 2008, but posted 11 top-tens and closed the year fifteenth in points. Truex began 2009 by winning the pole for the Daytona 500, but with DEI merging into Chip Ganassi Racing to form Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, his lone season with the new team produced no wins, and he was replaced by Jamie McMurray at year’s end.
Michael Waltrip Racing (2010–2013)
For 2010, Truex joined Michael Waltrip Racing to drive the No. 56 Toyota Camry, the number his late father had carried in the Grand National Division. The fit was immediate: he finished sixth in the Daytona 500, won the All-Star Showdown exhibition at Charlotte, and finished 22nd in points. He battled through engine and accident issues to claim a top-fifteen average finish by season’s end.
He continued to develop with MWR over the next three seasons, posting his first Cup Series win with the team in 2013 and helping elevate the organization into Chase contention. When MWR restructured its operations for 2014, the No. 56 became a research and development team, and Truex was told he could seek a new ride, opening the door to his move to Furniture Row Racing.
Furniture Row Racing (2014–2018)
Truex joined Furniture Row Racing for the 2014 season, taking over the No. 78 Chevrolet vacated by Kurt Busch. The team struggled in its first year together, finishing 24th in points, but elevated crew chief Cole Pearn joined the organization before 2015, and the duo quickly became one of the most consistent in the garage. In 2015, Truex started the year with 14 top-ten finishes in the first 15 races, joining Richard Petty as the only driver to accomplish that feat, and finished fourth in the final standings.
The partnership peaked in 2016 after the team switched from Chevrolet to Toyota and reunited with sponsor Bass Pro Shops. Truex led a record 392 of 400 laps to win the Coca-Cola 600, capturing the Southern 500 at Darlington later that summer and adding two more wins to post his first multi-win Cup season. He also lost the 2016 Daytona 500 by just 0.010 seconds to Denny Hamlin in the closest finish in race history.
His finest year came in 2017. Truex won eight races, including the Kobalt 400, the Coca-Cola 600, the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky, the I Love New York 355 at Watkins Glen, and the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to clinch the NASCAR Cup Series championship. He led the series with 19 of 108 stage wins and was named ESPY Best Driver in 2018. In 2018, he added four wins, made the Championship 4 for the second straight year, and finished second in the final standings, before Furniture Row Racing announced it would close at season’s end.
Joe Gibbs Racing Era (2019–2024)
On November 7, 2018, Truex and Cole Pearn signed with Joe Gibbs Racing to drive the No. 19 Toyota starting in 2019, replacing Daniel Suárez. The pairing delivered immediately. Truex won four regular-season races, swept both the spring and fall Richmond events, won the Round of 8 opener at Martinsville, and arrived at Homestead-Miami Speedway leading the points. A pit road error during the season finale cost him the championship, leaving him second in the final standings for the third time in four years, but he still led the series with seven wins.
Cole Pearn departed Joe Gibbs Racing after the 2019 season, and Truex paired with new crew chief James Small from 2020 onward. Despite the change, he continued to post strong results, winning at Martinsville in 2020, the Goodyear 400 at Darlington in 2021 for his 30th career victory, and multiple races in 2021, including Martinsville and Richmond, as he advanced to the Championship 4 at Phoenix. He returned to victory lane at Phoenix in March 2022 for his first win at the track and added wins at Dover, Sonoma, and New Hampshire in 2023, clinching the 2023 regular-season championship along the way.
On August 5, 2023, Truex signed a contract extension to remain with Joe Gibbs Racing through 2024. On June 14, 2024, he announced that the 2024 season would be his last as a full-time driver. He made the 2024 playoffs but was eliminated in the Round of 16 and finished tenth in the final standings, capping a 24th and final full-time Cup Series campaign.
Driving Style and Strengths
Truex is widely regarded as a patient, calculated racer with elite feel for long runs, particularly on intermediate 1.5-mile tracks, where he has recorded the bulk of his Cup Series victories. His strengths include tire management, fuel-mileage strategy, and a smooth style that helps him nurse wounded cars to strong finishes. The longstanding partnership with crew chief Cole Pearn, and later with James Small, has been central to his late-career success, allowing the team to optimize stage strategy and adjust on the fly.
Notable Races and Milestones
Truex’s career-defining moments include his 2017 Cup Series championship, his 0.010-second loss to Denny Hamlin in the 2016 Daytona 500, his record-setting 392 of 400 laps led in the 2016 Coca-Cola 600, and his 2019 playoff run that ended with a heartbreaking pit road error at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He is also one of only a handful of drivers to win in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series, having picked up his first Truck Series victory at Bristol in 2021.
Martin Truex Jr. Career Wins
Martin Truex Jr. has compiled a robust win list across NASCAR’s three national touring series, highlighted by the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series championship, back-to-back Xfinity Series titles in 2004 and 2005, and a total of more than 30 verified victories in the Cup Series. His wins span every discipline, from short tracks and intermediate ovals to road courses and superspeedways, and he has regularly been a factor in NASCAR’s crown jewel events.
Cup Series Highlights
Truex’s Cup Series win total stands at 34, including crown jewel victories in the 2016 and 2019 Coca-Cola 600s and the 2016 Southern 500. His 2017 season featured eight wins, the most of his career, and his 2019 campaign delivered seven more, both series-leading totals. He has also won multiple times at Martinsville Speedway, Richmond Raceway, Dover International Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway, tracks that have served as the foundation of his success.
His most recent Cup Series win came at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2023, part of a stretch that also included victories at Dover and Sonoma. He returned to the Cup Series in 2025 to drive the No. 56 Toyota Camry XSE for Tricon Garage, making his first start back in the No. 56 since 2013 and locking into the Daytona 500 as the fastest open car in qualifying.
Other Wins & Performances
Truex captured consecutive Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) championships in 2004 and 2005, winning multiple races each season. In 2021, he won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt event, becoming the 36th driver to win in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series. He also captured multiple Busch North Series wins from 2000 to 2002 driving the family No. 56 SeaWatch Chevy.
Martin Truex Jr. Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Racing runs deep in the Truex family. His late father, Martin Truex Sr., was a race winner in the Busch North Series and a major influence on his son’s career. His younger brother, Ryan Truex, is a two-time champion in the ARCA Menards Series East and races part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing. His uncle Barney Truex competed part-time in the Whelen Modified Tour in the 1980s, and cousins Curtis Truex Jr. and Tyler Truex are active late model racers.
Personal Life
Truex was in a long-term relationship with Sherry Pollex from 2005 to 2023. Together they founded the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation in 2007 to support children with pediatric cancer, a cause that became deeply personal after Pollex was diagnosed with Stage III ovarian cancer in 2014. Truex announced the end of their romantic relationship on January 27, 2023, though the two remained close friends until Pollex’s death on September 17, 2023. Truex is also an avid fan of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League and the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League.
2025 Season Performance
On January 16, 2025, it was announced that Tricon Garage would attempt to make its NASCAR Cup Series debut at the 2025 Daytona 500, with Truex driving the No. 56 Toyota Camry XSE and Bass Pro Shops as the primary sponsor. Cole Pearn, Truex’s longtime crew chief from his championship years at Furniture Row Racing, returned to serve as crew chief for the effort. Truex locked himself into the race by posting the fastest open-car qualifying speed, his first Daytona 500 start since 2024.
Truex’s 2025 Daytona 500 ended with a 38th-place finish after he was involved in a crash, mirroring the misfortunes that have occasionally punctuated his superspeedway results over the years. Despite the early exit, the appearance marked a successful return to competitive racing and a reunion with both his iconic No. 56 and his former Furniture Row crew chief.
With the Daytona 500 complete, Truex has not announced additional 2025 Cup Series starts, suggesting his racing calendar will remain limited. The Tricon Garage effort nonetheless demonstrated that the 2017 Cup Series champion still has the speed to qualify on pace at the sport’s biggest race, and it leaves open the possibility of selected additional appearances later in the year.