When Martin Truex Jr. was tasked with qualifying a third Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) entry to the 2006 Daytona 500, he was a 24-year-old with the experience of just 3 Cup Series races in his pocket. As any upcoming driver would today, he had been pleased that he’d been called up to the big leagues. Though 19 years have passed since then he remembers the nostalgic days clearly.
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“It’s changed drastically, as you could imagine,” he says of the time between now and his debut. At the time of his maiden Daytona 500, he’d been a driver for Chance 2 Motorsports in the Xfinity Series. Thanks to the common roots of Chance 2 and DEI, his progression had been a natural one. But what surprised him the most when he moved to the higher tiers was how little he had to do with race preparation.
He continues, “I just remember I didn’t have to work on the car. I didn’t have to do anything but show up and drive it. It didn’t make any sense. So that’s how much has changed. It’s crazy.” Now heading to his 20th Daytona 500, all he wants to do is win. Through all the years since his first race, he has been a Cup Series champion and earned many other achievements.
But the Harley J. Earl trophy has always eluded him. The closest he came to winning it was in 2016 when Denny Hamlin beat him by 0.01 seconds. He will be looking to set that scale in balance in the upcoming race.
The stability that Martin Truex Jr. has found 19 years after his debut Daytona 500
Three of the four major teams Truex Jr. raced for in his career no longer exist. DEI disappeared after bracing tough storms and merging with Chip Ganassi. Furniture Row Racing shut its doors due to financial issues. Michael Waltrip Racing did the same on the back of a race manipulation scandal. Despite his many other accomplishments, Truex Jr. feels that he ought to have a few more races at least with DEI.
He has raced for Joe Gibbs Racing the longest in his Cup Series career (5 seasons). 2024 will be the 6th full-time year he wears these colors and he can’t be more satisfied with where he is. Taking an affinity with being wanted at JGR and standing atop some stability in his turbulent career, he concludes, “It’s a lot different than the way it used to be. It’s nice not having to worry about that.”
