Martin Lee Truex Jr. Bio
Martin Lee Truex Jr., born on June 29, 1980, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. He is best known as the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion and a two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, capturing the Xfinity title in 2004 and 2005. A native of New Jersey, Truex built one of the most consistent careers in modern NASCAR, winning major crown jewel races such as the Coca-Cola 600 and the Southern 500.
He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 56 Toyota Camry XSE for Tricon Garage. For most of his prime years, he raced in the No. 19 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing with crew chief James Small. Over his career, he became known for short-track toughness, intermediate-track dominance, and steady playoff performances.
Early Life and Background
Martin Lee Truex Jr. was born on June 29, 1980, in Mayetta, New Jersey, a small community located in Stafford Township, Ocean County. He grew up in a household shaped by racing, as his father, Martin Truex Sr., was a former race winner in the Busch North Series. His mother, Linda Truex, supported the family’s deep ties to short-track competition in the Northeast.
Truex graduated from Southern Regional High School in 1998. Inspired by his father’s career, he began racing go-karts at the New Egypt Speedway in Ocean County, New Jersey, when the track was still paved. Once New Jersey regulations allowed him at age eighteen, he moved up to the Modified division at Wall Stadium Speedway in 1998.
Path to NASCAR
Following in his father’s footsteps, Truex began competing in the Busch North Series in 2000. He ran three full seasons from 2000 to 2002 and made limited starts in 2003, claiming thirteen poles and five wins behind the wheel of his family-owned No. 56 SeaWatch Chevy. His success in the regional series earned attention from NASCAR national-series teams.
In 2000, Truex moved south to Mooresville, North Carolina, where he rented a home from Dale Earnhardt Jr. before buying his own. That connection led to a major break when Earnhardt Jr. hired him to drive the No. 81 Chance 2 Motorsports Chevy in the Busch Series in 2003. Truex’s climb through the Busch North Series and Modifieds set the foundation for his rise into NASCAR’s national spotlight.
Martin Lee 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. Over the next two seasons, he split time between his family team and Chance 2 Motorsports, recording top finishes at Bristol Motor Speedway and closing 2003 with two consecutive second-place runs. In 2004, he raced full-time for Chance 2 and earned his first career Busch Series victory at Bristol.
That season, he added three more wins, including victories at Talladega Superspeedway and the final NASCAR event at Nazareth Speedway. He won the Busch Series championship with a race to spare. He defended the title in 2005, becoming the first driver to win a Busch Series points race outside the United States when he triumphed in Mexico. He also won at Talladega, Dover, and took his first Daytona International Speedway victory on July 1, 2005.
NASCAR Cup Series Breakthrough (2006-2013)
Truex moved to the No. 1 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevy for the 2006 Nextel Cup Series season, finishing nineteenth in points. In 2007, he captured his first Sprint Cup Series win at the Autism Speaks 400, leading 216 of 400 laps. That victory launched a late-season surge that helped him clinch his first Chase for the Sprint Cup berth, where he finished eleventh in points.
After a fifteenth-place points finish in 2008, Truex followed the merger of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. into Chip Ganassi Racing, racing one season for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in 2009. He then moved to the No. 56 Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2010, adopting the family number his father had carried in the Grand National Division. He stayed with MWR through 2013, collecting his first Cup crown jewel victory at the 2013 Coca-Cola 600.
Furniture Row Racing Era (2014-2018)
After Michael Waltrip Racing restructured in 2013, Truex was confirmed for the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet in 2014. Following a tough first season, he paired with rookie crew chief Cole Pearn in 2015 and turned in a career-best campaign, snapping a long winless streak at Pocono Raceway and advancing to the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami, where he finished fourth in points.
In 2016, Furniture Row switched to Toyota, and Truex dominated the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, leading a record 392 of 400 laps. He added a Southern 500 victory at Darlington Raceway and a win at Chicagoland Speedway. In 2017, he captured the regular-season championship and the NASCAR Cup Series title, winning the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He was named the 2017 ESPY Best Driver.
Joe Gibbs Racing Era (2019-2024)
Following the closure of Furniture Row Racing, Truex signed with Joe Gibbs Racing to drive the No. 19 Toyota beginning in 2019. Crew chief Cole Pearn joined him, and the duo won seven races that season, including a dramatic Martinsville playoff win and a Southern 500 repeat. Truex finished runner-up in the final standings for the second year in a row after a costly pit-road error at Homestead-Miami.
After Pearn’s departure in 2019, Truex continued to win with James Small as his crew chief, capturing races at Martinsville, Darlington, and Phoenix. In March 2021, he earned his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win at the Bristol dirt race, becoming the 36th driver to win in all three of NASCAR’s top national series. He signed a contract extension in August 2023 to remain with JGR through 2024.
On June 14, 2024, Truex announced he would retire from full-time competition at season’s end. Although he was eliminated in the Round of 16 of the playoffs, he closed his final full-time campaign tenth in the final standings. On January 16, 2025, it was announced that Tricon Garage would field the No. 56 Toyota Camry for Truex in the 2025 Daytona 500, with Cole Pearn serving as crew chief and Bass Pro Shops as the primary sponsor.
Driving Style and Strengths
Truex built his reputation as a master of intermediate tracks, where his smooth, patient style allowed him to lead long runs and manage tire wear. He was especially strong on short tracks and 1.5-mile venues, where he logged many of his career wins. His long-running partnership with crew chief Cole Pearn was defined by aggressive fuel-saving strategies, and his later work with James Small continued that trend of calculated, late-race execution.
Notable Races and Milestones
Among his most memorable moments, Truex dominated the 2016 Coca-Cola 600 by leading 392 of 400 laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He also won the 2016 Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway and the 2019 Coca-Cola 600. His 2017 Cup title at Homestead-Miami, his 2021 Truck Series win at the Bristol dirt race, and his emotional 2017 Watkins Glen victory, where longtime partner Sherry Pollex returned to victory lane, stand among the defining achievements of his career.
Martin Lee Truex Jr. Career Wins
Over the course of his NASCAR career, Martin Truex Jr. built a versatile resume that included championships in the Xfinity Series and the Cup Series, along with victories across all three of NASCAR’s top national touring series. He is a two-time Xfinity Series champion (2004 and 2005) and the 2017 Cup Series champion. In 2023, he was recognized as one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers.
NASCAR Cup Series Highlights
Truex’s Cup Series win total reflects a career spent largely with championship-caliber organizations. His first Cup victory came in 2007 at Dover International Speedway in the Autism Speaks 400, and he went on to collect multiple wins in nearly every full-time season from 2015 through 2019. He captured the Coca-Cola 600 in 2016 and 2019, the Southern 500 in 2016, and the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series championship with a win at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Other Wins and Performances
Beyond the Cup Series, Truex was a two-time consecutive Xfinity Series champion in 2004 and 2005 and was named the Busch Series Most Popular Driver in both of those seasons. In March 2021, he added a Craftsman Truck Series victory at the Bristol dirt race, becoming the 36th driver to win in all three of NASCAR’s top national series. He also made a one-off Xfinity Series start in 2021 at Atlanta, returning to the series for the first time since 2010.
Martin Lee Truex Jr. Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Racing runs deep in the Truex family. His late father, Martin Truex Sr., was a former race winner in the Busch North Series and competed full-time in the East Series during the 1990s. His younger brother, Ryan Truex, races part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing and is a two-time consecutive champion in the ARCA Menards Series East. His uncle, Barney Truex, competed part-time in the Whelen Modified Tour in the 1980s, while his cousins Curtis Truex Jr. and Tyler Truex are late model racing drivers.
Personal Life
Truex was in a long-term relationship with Sherry Pollex from 2005 to 2023. The couple 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 that he and Pollex had ended their relationship on January 27, 2023, though they remained close friends until Pollex’s death on September 17, 2023.
An avid sports fan, Truex supports the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League and the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League. In 2019, his holding company, which owns a small aircraft fleet, expanded into the human organ transport business.
2025 Season Performance
Martin Lee Truex Jr. entered the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season on a part-time basis with Tricon Garage, the No. 56 Toyota Camry XSE team that marked his return to the family number he had last carried with Michael Waltrip Racing. The program launched with the 2025 Daytona 500, with Bass Pro Shops as the primary sponsor and Cole Pearn serving as crew chief.
Truex locked himself into the Daytona 500 field by posting the fastest open-car qualifying speed, marking a successful return to superspeedway racing. His 2025 schedule was expected to be limited, focused on select Cup races in the No. 56 Toyota. As a semi-retired champion and one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers, his 2025 outings served as selective showcase events for Tricon Garage, leveraging his experience, his long-standing sponsor relationships, and his track record of clutch performances to anchor the new team’s debut season.
