Martin Truex Jr. knew at an early age that racing was going to be his fulltime job, but to get there he had to pay his dues on a clamming boat.
“That’s the family business,” Truex said. “My family’s in the commercial clamming business.”
From an early age, Truex knew that it took money to race and climb the ladder.
“In high school, I started going on (the boat) on the weekends,” Truex said. “We’d leave the docks Saturday night 2-3 a.m., because you’d have to catch on Sunday to have Monday morning’s shipment to go to the plant. … I bought a lot of go-kart tires and a lot of stuff to race on Saturdays.”
Immediately out of high school, Truex transitioned from working part time to a full-time gig – still with an eye toward supporting his race. The reason was simple, it was a lot more lucrative to work on the boat than in a shop. He was able to clear $1,200 or more each week.
That lasted for nearly two years until he started running the Busch North car.
The story of his clamming days will be detailed in an episode of Racing Roots that debuts at 5:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBC after the Xfnity race at Watkins Glen International.
For more, watch the video above.