Martin Truex Jr.

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NHMS_092715_01Furniture Row Racing to Field
Toyota Camrys Starting in 2016

The Sprint Cup Series Team
Picks Up Martin Truex Jr.’s Contract Option,

Establishes Technical Alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing

LOUDON, N.H. (Sept. 27, 2015) — Furniture Row Racing announced today at New Hampshire Motor Speedway that it has entered into a partnership with Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc. (TMS) to field Toyota Camrys for driver Martin Truex Jr. starting with the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

The Denver, Colorado-based team also announced that it has picked up Truex’s contract option for 2016.

By joining the Toyota NASCAR fleet, the single-car Furniture Row Racing team will enter into a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing and have Toyota Racing Development, U.S.A. (TRD) build engines for the No. 78 Furniture Row Camrys.

“As we continue our quest to be a contender for this year’s Sprint Cup championship, it’s hard not to feel the excitement and enthusiasm of becoming an integral partner with Toyota next season,” said Joe Garone, president and general manager of Furniture Row Racing. “The added resources and technical support that Toyota will provide, along with having a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, definitely increases the growth potential for our team.

“The track record of Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing speaks for itself. They are both proven winners with an unyielding commitment to raising the performance bar in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.”

Toyota, which joined the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2007 and partnered a year later with Joe Gibbs Racing, is thrilled about the addition of Furniture Row Racing to its roster.

“Partnering with Furniture Row Racing is a great fit for Toyota and we look forward to the team fielding a Camry in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2016,” said Ed Laukes, vice president of marketing, performance and guest experience for Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A. “Furniture Row Racing has proven to be a race-winning organization and we are confident the technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing will make Camrys even more competitive and improve performance on the race track. We welcome Furniture Row to the Toyota Racing family and are thrilled to have a championship-caliber driver like Martin Truex Jr. back in the Toyota lineup.”

Garone, who has been with Furniture Row Racing since its inception (2005), expressed his gratitude to Chevrolet and to Richard Childress Racing (RCR).

“I want to thank Chevrolet for its support the past 10 seasons and to Richard Childress Racing as our Chevrolet technical alliance partner since 2010,” said Garone. “The support from Chevrolet and RCR has helped our growth pattern.”

Garone said that he and team owner Barney Visser were happy to pick up the contract option for Truex, a Chase qualifier, who is in his second season as the Furniture Row Racing driver. His season totals to date include one win, seven top fives, 17 top-10s and 536 laps led.

“Martin has done a terrific job driving our No. 78 race car to a victory and into the Chase,” said Garone. “He and crew chief Cole Pearn have established an outstanding chemistry. We look forward to having Martin as the Furniture Row Racing driver in 2016 and beyond.”

The 35-year-old Truex said he is ready and anxious to drive the Furniture Row car in 2016 and rejoin Toyota. He drove a Toyota Camry for four seasons as a member of the Michael Waltrip Racing team from 2010 through 2013.

“I am happy to continue in my role with Furniture Row Racing and feel that we’ve just begun a growth spurt that will take us to a new level,” said Truex. “It’s a great organization and Barney (Visser, team owner) gives us whatever we need to be successful.

“I know the folks from Toyota and I am looking forward to being part of their team again. They build fast engines and having a technical alliance with the highly-successful Joe Gibbs Racing is an added bonus to our program. While our primary focus right now is on the Chase, I am eagerly looking forward to what is in store for our Furniture Row Racing team.”

Furniture Row Racing made its NASCAR debut in 2005, competing in 10 NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) races and two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) events that season. The team has qualified for the Chase in two of the last three seasons and was the first single-car team to earn a Chase berth.

Furniture Row is the owner and exclusive sponsor of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team. By owning and operating more than 330 stores in 31 states, Furniture Row has established itself as one of the largest family-owned specialty home furnishings and bedding retailers in the United States.

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Kobalt 400 - PracticeMartin Truex Jr. finished third in Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan to capture his 14th top 10 in 15 races this season. He is the first driver to accomplish the feat since Richard Petty in 1969.

If Truex can notch top 10s in the next two races, he can become the first driver to ever record 16 top 10s in the first 17 races.

On Sunday, Truex gained ground on Kevin Harvick in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings as well. The No. 78 Chevrolet driver ranks second, trailing Harvick by just 15 points.

But, with both all but locked into the Chase with wins, more wins are all that matter.

Despite his strong performance, Truex’s four-race streak of leading the most laps came to an end. Harvick’s 63 laps led paced all drivers.

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Martin Truex Jr. wins Pocono 2015

Michigan Weekend Preview

June 11, 2015

Staff Report
NASCAR Wire Service

Martin Truex Jr. has been the surprise of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

Not expected to even make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at the beginning of the year, Truex has proven to be a legitimate championship contender. The driver of the No. 78 Chevrolet for single-car Furniture Row Racing out of Denver, Colorado has led the most laps in each of the past four races and finally captured his first win of the season at Pocono Raceway last weekend, speeding away from reigning NSCS champion Kevin Harvick and wins leader Jimmie Johnson on his path to Victory Lane.

“The win was kind of an exclamation point on the start of our season,” Truex said. “But we’ve had a lot to be happy about, a lot to be excited about and honestly just looking forward to the rest of the season and seeing what we can do now that the pressure is off and we can go to work on getting ready for the last 10 (the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup).”

Truex carries the momentum from his Pocono triumph into Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway (1 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1).

The New Jersey native has never won at Michigan, but he does have three top 10s at the two-mile track, including two second-place showings in 2007 and a third-place finish in 2013.

“There are still mountains to climb and things to conquer,” said Truex after Pocono. “We haven’t won a championship. This is one race. We’ve got a lot of work to do yet.”

As Truex acknowledged, there is plenty of season left – 12 regular season races and the 10-race Chase. Still, he has produced a banner year so far by anyone’s standards. Truex ranks second in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings, 39 points behind Kevin Harvick. His 13 top-10 finishes tie Harvick’s total for the series’ most. To put Truex’s number of top 10s into perspective, in NSCS history only Lee Petty (1954, 1959), Richard Petty (1969), Truex and Harvick have collected 13 top 10s through the first 14 races.

“Honestly it’s the most fun I’ve had in racing in a long, long time,” Truex said. ”And (I’m) just so thankful for the opportunity to drive for (owner) Barney (Visser) and everybody there (at Furniture Row Racing).”

Truex has performed even while facing adversity off-the-track as his long-time girlfriend Sherry Pollex recovers from ovarian cancer. He has praised Pollex’s strength and asserts their off-the-track struggles have made him a better person.

Truex believes his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team can win the series championship.

“Right now (we’re) as good as anyone out there,” he said. “Look what we’ve done the last four weeks. We’ve went head-to-head with the big guys, the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) and the 4 (Harvick), who have been the guys to beat for a year and a half. The 48 has been the guy to beat for seven, eight years. We’ve been right there with them, toe-to-toe.

“I think we’re still growing. We’re still getting better. I’m just excited to be a part of it, to see what we can do.”

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1 3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet
2 5 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet
3 9 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet
4 11 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford
5 1 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet
6 19 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota
7 14 1 Jamie McMurray Cessna Chevrolet
8 15 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet
9 10 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Crispy Toyota
10 8 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota
11 20 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Chevrolet
12 27 16 Greg Biffle Ortho Ford
13 12 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Chevrolet
14 4 24 Jeff Gordon Axalta/Penn State Chevrolet
15 2 19 Carl Edwards ARRIS Toyota
16 18 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet
17 7 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford
18 29 33 Ty Dillon(i) Yuengling Chevrolet
19 6 3 Austin Dillon Dow Chevrolet
20 30 51 Justin Allgaier SEM Chevrolet
21 28 14 Tony Stewart Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet
22 23 15 Clint Bowyer Jack Link’s/Big Machine Records Toyota
23 21 55 David Ragan Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota
24 33 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford
25 32 40 Landon Cassill(i) Interstate Moving Services Chevrolet
26 34 7 Alex Bowman Accell Construction Chevrolet
27 35 38 David Gilliland MDS Ford
28 39 35 Cole Whitt Ford
29 38 98 Josh Wise Ford
30 36 34 Brett Moffitt # Dockside Logistics Ford
31 16 27 Paul Menard Schrock/Menards Chevrolet
32 41 83 Matt DiBenedetto # Burger King Toyota
33 40 26 Jeb Burton # Maxim Fantasy Sports Toyota
34 31 46 Michael Annett Sherwin Williams Chevrolet
35 42 32 Travis Kvapil(i) Visone RV Parts Ford
36 37 23 JJ Yeley(i) Dr Pepper/Heinz Toyota
37 22 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet
38 26 47 AJ Allmendinger Clorox Chevrolet
39 13 31 Ryan Newman Grainger Chevrolet
40 43 62 Brendan Gaughan(i) Chevrolet
41 24 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Medallion Bank Ford
42 17 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Zest Ford
43 25 43 Aric Almirola Nathan’s Famous Ford

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Kobalt 400 - PracticeAh, how times have changed.

Just last spring, Martin Truex Jr. had to be content with a ninth-place finish at Pocono, the second of only five top-10 finishes he would collect the entire season. This year, however, a mere top-10 showing will fall short of the satisfaction No. 78 is searching for at Pocono.

Currently second in the points standings, Truex is having a standout season by any standard of measure. In 13 starts, he’s finished outside of the top-10 only once, including a stretch of seven straight top 10s to start the season. He has already led more laps in 2015 (389) than he has in all but two total seasons throughout his 12-year NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, and more than any driver this year not named Kevin Harvick (1,123), Kurt Busch (659) or Joey Logano (464).

Although the most important column on Truex’s stat sheet remains empty (he hasn’t won since Sonoma in 2013), history suggests he’ll eventually reap the rewards of running up front as long as he can keep up the pace. In the past 25 seasons, only one driver (Jeff Gordon, 2010) has finished a full season top-four in laps led without having a win to show for it.