As NASCAR marked the end of the Cup season Thursday with the Awards banquet in Las Vegas, it also marked the official end for Furniture Row Racing, which Martin Truex Jr. affectionately called “a special team, a special time.”
Hours after crew chief Cole Pearn tweeted a photo of the team’s Denver, Colorado, shop on his last day there, Truex graced the banquet stage for the last time as driver of the team’s No. 78 Toyota.
A year after being recognized as the series champion, Truex gave his speech as the second-place finisher.
Afterward, Truex reflected on the “end of an era” for the team, which he joined in 2014 and won 17 races with.
“I’m really proud of the effort,” Truex told reporters. “You never know if the next chapter will be as successful as the last one. Just thankful for all the people around me and for (owner) Barney (Visser) and what he gave us, what he allowed us all to do. It was a special time. Hopefully, we can continue that success. But nothing’s guaranteed.”
Truex sad that he was “sad” he placed second to Joey Logano in the standings, but said it was important to get the chance to acknowledge all that Visser did for Truex and the team one last time on the banquet stage.
“I think it’s special, an important time to be able to get up there and say those things,” Truex said. “Just really pass on the word for the team and represent the team like that so all our fans can see it. I was glad he was here. He wasn’t here last year (due to recovering from surgery after a heart attack). I wish he was here last year, not this year to be honest. … It’s hard. You get two to three minutes to say a few things. I’ll never be able to tell him or express just how much he means to me, what he’s done and what the last five years mean to me and the things he’s done for my career. Sad times for all of us.
“I know Cole’s in a tough spot. He’s getting ready to move and he’s sad because today’s his last day at the shop. The cars are lined up and getting ready to be shipped off. End of an era for sure, but we had a hell of good run. Came close to being a storybook ending.”
A week from now, Pearn will be working full-time as crew chief on Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Toyota, which Truex will drive.
Truex said he’s not concerned about the change in dynamics for him and Pearn as they transition to JGR after years spent out in Denver as part of a technical alliance with JGR.
“Especially with Cole leading the charge,” Truex said. “I know he can get the best out of everybody. That was really the key to our success. Him figuring out how to get most out of everyone, put the right people in the right places. It’s going to be hard to duplicate the cast of characters we had, there’s no question. If anyone can do it, it’s him.”
Truex said “there’s no reason for us to change” how they work and race in their new place of work.
“I think … the last couple of seasons we really played a lot of what they were doing and tried to stay on the same page as them,” Truex said of JGR. “As they were updating things and coming up with new ideas and new cars and all that stuff, we kind of stayed on the same page and took it our one little step further out there at Colorado. I think the mad scientist part of Cole is still there and he’ll still be a driving force in making those late changes. … It’s going to be new territory.”
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