Martin Truex junior
Martin Truex, Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is a NASCAR driver from Mayetta, New Jersey. He was the 2004 Busch Series champion and is currently in line to race in Nextel Cup in 2006.
Truex had racing in his blood; his father, Martin Sr., was a former champion in the Busch North Series and a successful modified driver. The younger Truex began racing in the Busch North series in 2000, and won 3 races in 3 years with a family owned team.
Truex made occasional Busch Series starts since 2001. Though never a big name, he caught the attention of Dale Earnhardt Jr., who, in 2003, signed him to a contract to join Dale's Chance 2 racing team. In 6 Busch Series starts for Chance 2, he finished in the top 10 3 times, including consecutive 2nd place finishes to end the season.
Truex raced full time for Dale Jr. in 2004. At Bristol Motor Speedway, he would earn his first career victory, and he would later add 3 more victories over the next 7 races. This would include a victory at Talladega Superspeedway which broke his car owner's stranglehold on winning restrictor plate races in the Busch Series, and a victory at the final NASCAR event held at Nazareth Speedway. He took the lead in the championship after Nazareth, but lost it to Kyle Busch a few races later. However, a series of top 5's and top 10's in the second half of the season would allow Truex to pull away from Busch, clinching the Busch Series championship with a race to spare.
Truex stayed in the Busch Series to defend his championship in 2005. Currently 3rd in the points after 1/3 of the season, he won the first NASCAR race held in Mexico, as well as defending his Busch wins at Talladega and Dover International Speedway. He won his first race at Daytona International Speedway on June 1st, 2005.
While on his way to a Busch Series championship, Truex made a pair of appearances in Nextel Cup as a relief driver to Dale Jr., who'd suffered burns in a sports car accident. Truex started his first career Cup race for Dale Earnhardt Inc. at Atlanta Motor Speedway later that year. Truex started his first Daytona 500 in 2005, and will make a couple more appearances before running for rookie of the year honors in 2006 for DEI.
Truex's association with Dale Jr., NASCAR's most popular driver, has earned himself his own large following. This was evident at the 2005 Nextel All-Star Challenge, when a fan vote put Truex into the field for the event.
Races Won
Busch Series
- March 27, 2004 - Sharpie Professional 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway
- April 24, 2004 - Aaron's 312 at Talladega Superspeedway
- May 8, 2004 - Charter 250 at Gateway International Raceway
- May 23, 2004 - Goulds Pumps ITT Industries 200 at Nazareth Speedway
- September 25, 2004 - Stacker 2 Hundred presented by YJ Stinger at Dover International Speedway
- October 23, 2004 - Sam's Town 'He Dared To Rock' 250 benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital at Memphis Motorsports Park
- March 6, 2005 - Telcel MOTOROLA Mexico 200 presented by Banamex at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
- April 30, 2005 - Aaron's 312 at Talladega Superspeedway
- June 4, [[2005] - MBNA RacePoints 200 at Dover International Speedway
- July 1, 2005 - Winn-Dixie 250 presented by PepsiCo at Daytona International Speedway