Martin Truex Jr.’s biggest achievement over a two-decade-long career is winning the 2017 Cup Series championship. With the world of motorsports celebrating his legacy following his retirement, which came at the end of the 2024 season, here’s a brief look back at how it was blind trust in his crew chief that made him a champion.
Advertisement
Between 2015 and 2019, Cole Pearn served as Truex’s crew chief. At the time of the 2017 finale, Truex needed a win at Homestead-Miami to secure the title. Pearn had decided that they would go for a car that would be fast on the short runs instead of one that would be consistent on the long runs.
This strategy did not sit well with Truex. He told RACER Magazine in a recent interview, “He wanted something that was going to be good and be fast when the sun went down. I was complaining all day about it.” The driver’s concerns became real when the car struggled to complete laps in the race while maintaining position.
Fortunately, Pearn learned from what he was watching and adapted. Truex added, “Then he just did his thing. He was like, ‘Stick with me here. I’m going to help you. I know what’s happening.’ I had so much trust in him that I could chill, do my thing, and wait on him.” The trust was rewarded soon.
Following adjustments to the car, Truex kept Kyle Busch and others behind him for the final 34 green flag laps that led to the checkered flag to win the day and the year. Interestingly, his lead over Busch was a mere 0.681 seconds. The fact that he could prevail over his competitors despite not having the best car meant a lot to him, all thanks to Pearn.
Pearn’s memories of the finale in Homestead Miami
Truex had never won at the Homestead-Miami before, and Pearn knew the challenges going to the track. Carrying out tests before the finale weekend had helped him draw certain conclusions about how he needed to set the car up. However, a few minor mistakes during the simulations are what led to the struggles on race day.
Pearn said, “Maybe made a couple errors in our simulation, but it let us be stronger later in the race when the sun went down. It was a grind of a race trying to hang on. But once the track gripped up and went to nighttime, we were able to get clean air and were in a better state.”
Following their success and the closure of Furniture Row Racing, the driver-crew chief combination moved to Joe Gibbs Racing together in 2019. Pearn retired from the sport at the end of his maiden season in the new camp. But the story of how he won his driver a championship will remain etched in history.
