Mom’s Decision Allowed Truex Jr. to Pursue Racing Career

DENVER, Colo. (May 3, 2016) — With Saturday night’s Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway being conducted on Mother’s Day weekend, Martin Truex Jr. reflected on how appreciative he is of his mother (Linda) for allowing him to continue to race after she watched in fright her pre-teenage son getting wrecked while competing in a go-kart.

“When I was a kid starting to race go-karts, my dad (Martin Truex Sr.) was racing as well, so a lot of the weekends when I was racing my mom would take me to the track,” recalled Truex. “She was obviously pretty nervous about it at first. Her 10 or 11-year-old kid and she’s like, ‘I don’t want you to do this,’ and we’re racing go-karts – a bunch of kids just being crazy.

“It was one of the first weekends I’d raced and somebody hit me in the back and ended up on top of me basically. The kart was sitting on my head and my mother was pretty freaked out by it. I’m like, ‘Mom, it’s okay. Don’t worry, I’m fine. Look at me.’ She was a mess. It was almost the end of my career, but luckily she let me keep going. She’s a great mom and I would love to call her from Kansas’ victory lane with a special Mother’s Day present.”

The go-kart accident that Truex maintains was “no big deal” started a career journey for the New Jersey native, who has advanced into a premier driver in NASCAR elite Sprint Cup Series.

Based on past performances by Truex at Kansas Speedway, the chance of making that call to his mother from victory lane is not out the question.

In the past eight races at the 1.5-mile oval, Truex has two runner-up finishes, four top fives and five top 10s. He also led the most laps in the 2012 spring race (173) and last year’s spring race (95).

“Looking back at the Kansas races, the opportunity was there at least three times of bringing home a victory,” said Truex, who currently ranks ninth in driver points. “I have come so close. Last year at this race we had it won but a late caution and a fuel mileage gamble cost us a victory.”

Truex, who will be driving the No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Toyota in the GoBowling.com<http://gobowling.com/> 400, is looking forward to the upcoming Kansas race. Kansas.

“With the history I have at Kansas Speedway and how much we have learned as a team, I am excited about going to Kansas with our Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Toyota this weekend,” said Truex. “There is always a wrinkle or two at every racetrack, but the toughest part about Kansas Speedway is how the track changes from practice to the start of the race. That caught us off guard in the past. But the track has aged well and I expect the race to be similar to Atlanta and California.”

Furniture Row Racing Traveling Roster, 2016

No. 78 Over-the-Wall Crew
Front-tire changer

Chris Taylor, West Plains, Mo.

Front-tire carrier

Chris Hall, Springfield, Mo.

Rear-tire changer

Lee Cunningham, Lake River, IL

Rear-tire carrier

Adam Mosher, Fort Mill, S.C.

Jackman

Bailey Walker, Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Gasman

Brian Dheel, Norton, Ohio

No. 78 Road Crew
President

Joe Garone, Denver, Colo.

Crew Chief

Cole Pearn, London, Ontario, Canada

Car Chief

Blake Harris, Maypearl, Texas

Race Engineers

Jeff Curtis, Fairfax Station, Va.
Pete Craik, Melbourne, Australia

Data/IT/Engineer

Ryan Kelly, London, Ontario, Canada

Engine Tuner

Greg Huls, Beatrice, Neb.

Engine Engineer

Jon Grove, Mandurah, Australia

Engine Builder

TRD, U.S.A

Spotter

Clayton Hughes, Thomasville, N.C.

Shock Specialist

Nick Kerlin, Old Fort, Ohio

Tire Specialist

Tommy DiBlasi, Annapolis, Md.

Front-End Mechanic

Gary Frost, Romeo, Mich.,

Rear-End Mechanic

Nino Venezia,Philadelphia

Floater Mechanic

Todd Carmichael, Redding, Calif.

Transportation

Chuck Lemay, DeKalb, IL,  Barry Huston, Bloomingdale, Mich., Roy Miller, Elkridge, Md., Roger Pritchard, Hutchinson, Kan., Henry Benfield, Statesville, N.C.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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