Martin Truex Jr. is far removed from the noise of all things racing following his retirement from the NASCAR Cup Series in 2024. The 45-year-old loves spending time outdoors, dividing his time between fishing and hunting. But that doesn’t mean he is not busy in a professional capacity.
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Truex Jr. owns and operates an aviation company that he began back in 2019. MTJ Aviation is an ARGUS Gold-certified Part 135 charter operator based in Mooresville, North Carolina. The roots of this company go back to 2014, when Truex Jr. purchased a Hawker 400XP to take him to races.
The 2017 Cup Series champion initially had another company manage the operations of this flight. However, he took matters into his own hands, seeing potential in aviation. Once the Part 135 certification came, he expanded his fleet and began focusing on expanding MTJ Aviation as a private chartered company that primarily catered to NASCAR drivers.
Truex Jr. believes that there is a lot of potential in this sector and that MTJ Aviation could grow into something bigger. Things went well until the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world and caused a dip in momentum.
The corporate and leisure passengers whom he had hoped to pull in were no longer interested in travel. This prompted him to get into a new vertical: Organ and surgical team transportation. This line of work had come at the suggestion of one of the pilots who flew for Truex Jr. It ended up being a highly profitable venture both from a financial and a goodwill standpoint.
“[Flying these organ missions] was a real blessing and it’s been a great experience,” Truex Jr. told AIN in 2020. The company has stuck to the medical transportation operations and has five Beechcraft 400 XPs in its fleet now.
The Beechcraft 400s have a range of 1,704 miles and a top speed of 505 miles per hour. With a cabin volume of 368.3 cubic feet each, they can seat up to eight passengers comfortably.
“We don’t want to get away from why we started this and why it’s working for us now. Strategically growing it and being able to deliver the things that got us where we’re at, I think, is important to understand and keep in mind.” Truex Jr. had said back then.
MTJ Aviation’s core business is now transporting organs and medical teams, and over 50% of its revenue comes from this. Truex Jr. had also stated in 2020 that the vision is to expand the fleet to include 25 to 30 business jets. That goal remains steady and true.
