The legacy of Martin Truex Jr., NASCAR’s improbable champion

Martin Truex Jr.’s NASCAR journey isn’t quite over, but his chance of becoming a multi-time Cup champion did end with his elimination in the opening round of the 2024 playoffs. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver at least had one championship to his name, in 2017, as well as three championship runner-ups. It’s reflective of his time in NASCAR in a way, which was a rather unusual one spanning over two decades and saw an unlikely rise in the second half of his career. Respected throughout the paddock and even to rivals for being a clean driver, what else does he leave as his legacy? When the checkered flag waves on MTJ’s full-time career, what will he be remembered for? 

Watch: ‘You never like to let anybody down’: Truex speaks on playoff heartbreak

A promising start
Driving for the Earnhardt-owned Chance 2 Motorsports team, he immediately demonstrated his potential in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The New Jersey native won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005 including 12 wins in two seasons. Among the names he defeated en route to these championships were Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer and Greg Biffle.

His success earned him a promotion to Dale Earnhardt Inc.’s Cup team in 2006, driving the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet. This was a difficult and tumultuous time for DEI as the team struggled and relationships were frayed. Michael Waltrip left the team after 2006 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. followed suit a year later. Despite the turmoil, Truex managed to earn his first victory in 2007 at Dover, which essentially functions as his home track (though no fewer than four tracks have been called his home track in the past, but let’s not start that debate). His Dover win was DEI’s 24th and final win before merged, becoming Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing. 

Race winner Martin Truex Jr. does a burnout

Photo by: Getty Images

Years of struggle
Truex did not find much success following his victory and the merger didn’t seem to help. He was consistently bested by teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, departing the team at the end of the 2009 season. He joined Michael Waltrip Racing to drive the No. 56 NAPA Toyota. Unfortunately, the change of race teams didn’t initially change the results on track. The team made agonizingly slow improvement. But that would pay off in 2013 when MTJ finally returned to Victory Lane, ending a six-year winless streak. That win also put him in contention to make the playoffs for the second consecutive year and things were looking up. Well, until it all fell apart due to one of the biggest scandals in NASCAR history…

Race winner Martin Truex Jr., Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota celebrates

Photo by: Getty Images

SpinGate
Fate can be a strange thing. The events of September 7th, 2013 nearly ended Truex’s NASCAR career but without it, we likely wouldn’t be calling him a future Hall of Famer right now. Clint Bowyer spun late in the regular season finale at Richmond, causing a caution that allowed Truex — his teammate — to salvage his playoff hopes. It would have been seen as a lucky break, if it wasn’t coordinated.

Bowyer was instructed in code to spin the car out after being informed about the points situation. His crew chief instructed him to “itch” his arm and moments later, Bowyer spun all on his own. Another MWR driver — Brian Vickers — was then instructed to abruptly pull down pit road. All this allowed Truex to take the final wildcard spot, only for it be stripped away after NASCAR uncovered the plot. It didn’t appear that Truex was in on it, but it was all to benefit him. 

Michael Waltrip, Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr.

Photo by: Getty Images

The fallout and penalties were immense. Looking specifically at Truex, he lost his playoff spot, sponsor NAPA severed all ties with the disgraced team, and Truex was let go at the end of the year. MWR was forced to downsize after losing NAPA and Truex was forced to find a new home. But this disaster ended up being the critical moment in MTJ’s career, one that put him on a much better path.

West to a new beginning
In 2014, Truex became part of a single-car operation known as Furniture Row Racing. It was an anomaly in the Cup garage, running one car out of a shop based in Denver, Colorado. Most NASCAR teams are in and around the area of Charlotte, North Carolina. The team, owned by Barney Visser, had been around since 2005. They had just one win, which came as a shock to everyone when Regan Smith captured the checkered flag in the 2011 Southern 500 at Darlington. No one expected much from Truex, who had just two wins in his first 300 starts. He ended his first season with FRR 24th in the standings and it appeared that he would continue being a solid mid-fielder for the rest of his career. Then, he joined forces with crew chief Cole Pearn.

Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry AOI and Cole Pearn

Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images

From mid-pack to lead
There are some driver/crew chief combinations that feel like magic, like Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson. Pearn and Truex were such a pairing. In 2015, they took Furniture Row Racing all the way to the Championship 4 with Truex earning his third career win at Pocono. That certainly drew some attention inside the garage. Furniture Row moved from Chevrolet to Toyota and became closely aligned to a powerhouse team — Joe Gibbs Racing. For the first time in his career, Truex had consistently fast cars under him. He won three races in the first decade of his career, only to more than double that total in 2016 alone — and that’s despite falling a couple inches short at the Daytona 500.

Race winner: Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Photo by: NASCAR Media

Elite driver
It’s rare to see a driver dominate the entire season in the modern playoff format, but that’s exactly what Truex did in 2017. At 37 years old, he finally arrived, showing everyone exactly what he was capable of: Eight wins, 19 top-fives, 26 top-tens, including one of the most dominant showings ever in NASCAR’s longest race. Truex led 392 of 400 laps at the Coke 600, or 588 of 600 miles in a record-shattering night. Despite the knockout-style points format, he marched through the playoffs with ease and won the championship in a stunning performance.

2017 champion Martin Truex Jr., Furniture Row Racing Toyota

Photo by: NASCAR Media

He nearly did it again in 2018, ending the year as the championship runner-up with another four wins. Furniture Row Racing then closed its doors, but Truex transitioned to JGR without skipping a beat. He was the championship runner-up again in 2019, adding another seven wins! If not for a bizarre pit stop during the finale where the tires got switched around, he could have won that title too. Cole Pearn left the sport, but Truex continued his winning ways with James Small atop the box. In 2021, he was in control of the title race before a late caution turned him into a three-time championship runner-up. After making the Championship 4 in four of last five seasons up through 2021, Truex had finally established himself as one of the top drivers in the sport.

Speed and misfortune
The Next Gen era has not been kind to Truex. He has shown plenty of speed, but misfortune follows Truex in a way that feels almost targeted. A winless season in 2022 forced him to miss the playoffs, despite sitting rather high in the regular season standings. He came back with a vengeance in 2023, winning the regular season title, which was sadly followed by an absolutely calamitous playoff run. 

Martin Truex Jr, Joe Gibbs Racing, Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry

Photo by: David Rosenblum / NKP / Motorsport Images

2024 was revealed to be his final full-time season as a Cup driver, but misfortune kept its cruel grip on him. His final opportunity to become a multi-time champion ended in the opening round and he remains winless this year. Two wrecks, not of his doing, and going 0.09mph over the speed limit down pit road in the cut-off race were the final nails to seal his last playoff coffin. But the season isn’t over yet. Reaching Victory Lane is all that matters now.

Thankful for what was, but wondering what could have been
Truex’s career can be evenly split into two parts, with the catastrophe that was SpinGate as the epicenter. Although he was able to accomplish so much in that second half, one has to wonder how much more we could have seen if he would have had access to faster cars earlier in his career. And let’s not forget that there were three different pivotal moments where he was one position shy of potentially becoming a four-time champion, equal with Jeff Gordon! Then there’s winning 30 Cup races over the course of just seven years. It truly feels like one is looking at two completely different drivers when looking back at his career — before 2014 and everything that came after.

Martin Truex Jr. is a reminder of the hidden talents mired deep within the pack. His legacy is one of endurance — a driver that clawed his way to the top of the sport, trudging through the mud for years before reaching it. But he’s also demonstrated that time on the summit isn’t guaranteed to be consistent, or even last. Which in that case, for Truex, this isn’t entirely the end. There’s still time for him to get one last victory as a NASCAR Cup Series driver.

Martin Truex Jr, Joe Gibbs Racing, Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry

Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images