2017 Cup Series Champion · NASCAR

Martin Truex Jr.

Martin Truex Jr. won back-to-back Busch Series titles in 2004 and 2005, then the 2017 Cup Series championship with the single-car Furniture Row Racing team. He made his last start at the 2025 Daytona 500.

Nationality
American
Born
29 June 1980 · Mayetta, New Jersey, U.S.
Last car
No. 56 Toyota · Tricon Garage (2025)
Cup teams
Dale Earnhardt, Inc. · Earnhardt Ganassi · Michael Waltrip Racing · Furniture Row Racing · Joe Gibbs Racing
Championships
1 (Cup Series 2017) · Busch Series 2004, 2005
Family
Son of Martin Truex Sr.; brother of Ryan Truex
Shop the Collection Watch highlights
Graphic illustration of NASCAR driver Martin Truex Jr. wearing his black and orange Bass Pro Shops racing suit, featuring his number 19 Toyota Camry race car
2017 Cup Series Champion
2004 — 2025
1
Cup Series Championship
34
Cup Series Wins
25
Pole Positions
694
Cup Series Starts

Who is Martin Truex Jr.?

Martin Lee Truex Jr., born 29 June 1980 in Mayetta, New Jersey, is a semi-retired American stock car driver. He won consecutive Busch Series titles in 2004 and 2005 and the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series championship with Furniture Row Racing, taking 34 Cup wins from 694 starts.

Full name
Martin Lee Truex Jr.
Nationality
American
Career
2004 — 2025
Best known for
Winning the 2017 Cup title with a single-car team

By Kozmozracing Editorial Published Updated 9 sources

Rider Profile

Martin Truex Jr.: Full Biography

Martin Lee Truex Jr. is a semi-retired American stock car racing driver, born on 29 June 1980 in Mayetta, New Jersey. He is the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion and a two-time Busch Series champion, and comes from a racing family — his father Martin Truex Sr. and younger brother Ryan have both raced professionally.

He won consecutive Busch Series championships in 2004 and 2005 for Chance 2 Motorsports, then moved into the Cup Series with Dale Earnhardt, Inc., taking his first win at Dover in June 2007.

The middle years were lean. Spells at Earnhardt Ganassi and Michael Waltrip Racing brought a single victory, at Sonoma in 2013, which ended a winless run of 218 races — a streak second in length only to Bill Elliott’s.

Furniture Row Racing changed his career. The single-car Denver team gave him four wins in 2016 and eight in 2017, along with the championship. Six seasons at Joe Gibbs Racing followed, including seven wins in 2019 and a second regular season title in 2023, before he stepped back from full-time competition.

The Career

Three Chapters That Defined Martin Truex Jr.

Chapter 01

Two Busch Titles

Truex came out of New Jersey short tracks into Chance 2 Motorsports and won the Busch Series championship in 2004 and again in 2005, the only back-to-back titles of his career. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. moved him up, and his first Cup win came at Dover in June 2007. What followed was the leanest stretch of his career: one victory across seven seasons with Earnhardt Ganassi and Michael Waltrip Racing, that win coming at Sonoma in 2013 and ending a run of 218 races without one — a drought second in length only to Bill Elliott's 226. That same season ended badly. At Richmond, Michael Waltrip Racing was found to have attempted to manipulate the race result; NASCAR's fifty-point penalty removed Truex from the Chase, with Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon added in his place.

Martin Truex Jr.'s black No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Impala on track at Daytona during Speedweeks in 2008. Busch Series and early Cup, 2004 — 2013 Photo: Martin Truex Jr., No. 1 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet (Daytona, 2008) by Freewheeling Daredevil / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (resized) · licence
Chapter 02

Furniture Row

Furniture Row Racing was a single-car team based in Denver, a long way from the Charlotte establishment, and it made him a champion. After a difficult first season he was fourth in 2015, then took four wins in 2016 including the Coca-Cola 600 and the Southern 500. 2017 was the season of his career: eight victories, nineteen top fives, twenty-six top tens from thirty-six races, the regular season championship and the title itself. Four more wins and twenty top fives followed in 2018 — and then the team closed.

Martin Truex Jr.'s No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota at Sonoma Raceway in 2017, his championship season. Cup Series, 2014 — 2018 Photo: Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota, Sonoma (2017) by TaurusEmerald / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (resized) · licence
Chapter 03

Gibbs, and a Last Start

Joe Gibbs Racing took him for 2019 and he won seven races in his first year there, finishing second in the championship. Four more came in 2021 and second again, then a winless 2022. 2023 brought three victories and a second regular season championship, and 2024 was his final full campaign. He returned for a single start in 2025, the Daytona 500, in Tricon Garage's No. 56 — his 694th Cup race across twenty-two seasons.

Martin Truex Jr.'s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2023. Cup Series, 2019 — 2025 Photo: Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Las Vegas (2023) by TaurusEmerald / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized) · licence
Career Timeline

Martin Truex Jr. Career Timeline: 1980 — Present

Born in New Jersey

Born on 29 June 1980 in Mayetta, New Jersey, into a racing family.

Busch Series champion

Takes the title for Chance 2 Motorsports.

Champion again

A second consecutive Busch Series championship.

First full Cup season

Nineteenth overall for Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

First Cup win

Wins at Dover in June, and takes his first Cup pole.

Sonoma, after 218 races

Ends a long winless run, then loses his Chase place to a team penalty at Richmond.

Fourth in the world

Twenty-two top tens in his second year at Furniture Row Racing.

Four wins

Including the Coca-Cola 600 and the Southern 500.

Cup Series champion

Eight wins, nineteen top fives and the title for a single-car team.

Runner-up

Four wins and twenty top fives in Furniture Row's final season.

Seven wins at Gibbs

Second in the championship in his first year with the team.

Regular season champion

Three wins and a second regular season title.

Final start

Runs the Daytona 500 for Tricon Garage, his 694th Cup race.

By the Numbers

Martin Truex Jr. Cup Series Record, Season by Season

Martin Truex Jr. season-by-season record: team, wins, poles, top 5, top 10 and final standing.
SeasonTeam Wins Poles Top 5 Top 10 Pos.
2004 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 0 0 0 0 70
2005 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 0 0 0 1 47
2006 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 0 0 2 5 19
2007 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 1 1 7 14 11
2008 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 0 0 3 11 15
2009 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing 0 3 1 6 23
2010 Michael Waltrip Racing 0 1 1 7 22
2011 Michael Waltrip Racing 0 1 3 12 18
2012 Michael Waltrip Racing 0 1 7 19 11
2013 Michael Waltrip Racing 1 0 7 15 16
2014 Furniture Row Racing 0 0 1 5 24
2015 Furniture Row Racing 1 0 8 22 4
2016 Furniture Row Racing 4 5 8 17 11
2017 Furniture Row Racing 8 3 19 26 1
2018 Furniture Row Racing 4 4 20 21 2
2019 Joe Gibbs Racing 7 0 15 24 2
2020 Joe Gibbs Racing 1 0 14 23 7
2021 Joe Gibbs Racing 4 0 13 20 2
2022 Joe Gibbs Racing 0 1 4 15 17
2023 Joe Gibbs Racing 3 3 9 17 11
2024 Joe Gibbs Racing 0 2 5 11 10
2025 Tricon Garage 0 0 0 0 42

The championship season is highlighted. Cup Series career totals: 34 wins · 25 poles · 147 top fives · 291 top tens from 694 starts across 22 seasons, which is what this table sums to. All four totals match the figures in his article's infobox exactly (694 starts, 34 wins, 25 poles, 291 top tens). This article carries no season-summary table, so every row here was built by counting his individual race results from the Cup results grid — 694 race cells — with poles taken from the bolded qualifying-time entries. The 2004 and 2005 rows cover 2 and 7 starts respectively, and 2025 covers the single start that ended his career. Verified 2026-09-03.

Martin Truex Jr. in his own words

In His Own Words
I wouldn't be here today without him
Martin Truex Jr. · NASCAR, on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s influence on his career, November 2017

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Frequently Asked

Martin Truex Jr.: Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Martin Truex Jr.?

Martin Lee Truex Jr., born 29 June 1980 in Mayetta, New Jersey, is a semi-retired American stock car racing driver. He won the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series championship and two Busch Series titles.

How many championships did Martin Truex Jr. win?

Three in total: the 2017 Cup Series championship with Furniture Row Racing, and consecutive Busch Series titles in 2004 and 2005. He was also Cup Series regular season champion in 2017 and 2023.

How many Cup Series races did Martin Truex Jr. win?

Thirty-four, from 694 starts across twenty-two seasons. His first was at Dover in June 2007 and his last at New Hampshire in 2023.

Why was the 2017 championship notable?

Furniture Row Racing was a single-car team based in Denver rather than in the Charlotte area where almost every Cup team operates. Truex won eight races that year and took the title before the team closed at the end of 2018.

What happened at Richmond in 2013?

His team, Michael Waltrip Racing, was found to have attempted to manipulate the outcome of the race. NASCAR issued fifty-point penalties, which removed Truex from the Chase and put Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon in instead. The penalty followed the team's actions rather than any finding against Truex himself.

Is Martin Truex Jr. still racing?

Not full time. His last full season was 2024 and he made a single start in 2025, the Daytona 500, for Tricon Garage.

Is Martin Truex Jr. related to other drivers?

Yes. His father is Martin Truex Sr. and his younger brother is Ryan Truex, both racing drivers.

Which teams did Martin Truex Jr. drive for?

Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing, Furniture Row Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing and finally Tricon Garage.

Shop His Gear

Martin Truex Jr. Collection

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References

Sources & Further Reading

Every statistic on this page is drawn from the following records.

  1. Martin Truex Jr. · Wikipedia
  2. Martin Truex Jr. (Q1377913) · Wikidata
  3. 2004 NASCAR Busch Series · Wikipedia
  4. 2005 NASCAR Busch Series · Wikipedia
  5. 2007 Autism Speaks 400 · Wikipedia
  6. 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series · Wikipedia
  7. 2023 Crayon 301 · Wikipedia
  8. 2025 Daytona 500 · Wikipedia
  9. Truex Jr. on Junior: I wouldn't be here today without him · NASCAR

How this page is made

Rider profiles are compiled from official series records and cross-checked against independent statistical databases before publication.

Commercial disclosure. This page links to merchandise sold by Kozmozracing. Products are fan-made tributes inspired by motorsport history and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed from the rider, their estate, or any team.

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