It can hardly be argued that a Cup Series champion in the modern era of NASCAR deserved his title more than Martin Truex Jr. did in 2017. He drove the No. 48 Furniture Row Racing Toyota Camry to eight victory lanes and ultimately grabbed the silverware at Homestead-Miami. His success resounded harder in the garages of Joe Gibbs Racing than anywhere else.
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2017 was only Furniture Row Racing’s second season as a Toyota team. Toyota Racing Development President David Wilson had orchestrated an alliance for the Colorado-based outfit with his company’s long-term partner, Joe Gibbs Racing. By the terms of the alliance, Furniture Row Racing had access to many of Gibbs’ resources.
What Gibbs wouldn’t have anticipated is that the smaller fish would end up besting it using the very tools that it provided. Wilson told the RACER in a recent interview how badly Truex’s championship affected the big dogs at Joe Gibbs Racing. He said, “It was a bitter, bitter defeat for Joe Gibbs Racing and Joe Gibbs.”
“Of course, he was gracious about it, but it’s tough when an organization with some of your IP and hardware beats you. That was a wake-up call.”
The loss was particularly difficult to digest since the entire season came down to the finale at Homestead-Miami in a winner-takes-all situation. Gibbs’ driver, Kyle Busch, failed to beat Truex Jr. despite coming close, and the title was lost.
How Joe Gibbs Racing dealt with the blow Furniture Row Racing landed
Furniture Row Racing decided to shut its doors at the end of the 2018 season since it couldn’t bear the costs of the alliance fee that Joe Gibbs Racing demanded of it. In an eerie parallel timing, its key sponsor 5-Hour Energy withdrew support as well.
Team owner Barney Visser said at the time, “This is not good for anybody. The numbers just don’t add up. I would have to borrow money to continue as a competitive team, and I’m not going to do that.”
As a final shot, Joe Gibbs Racing signed Truex Jr. as a driver for the No. 19 car. And so, the driver continued his career in a Toyota under a different banner.
Truex’s time with Toyota can be split into three parts. The first of it was with Michael Waltrip Racing, the second with Furniture Row, and the third with Joe Gibbs. Across all three parts, he secured 32 victories for the manufacturer. He won two Coca-Cola 600s, one Southern 500, and many other telling victories behind the wheel of the Japanese make,
