Martin Truex Jr. not lacking motivation to win championship in emotion-filled season

Martin Truex Jr. is the favorite to win the Cup Series championship, a status earned by winning a NASCAR Cup Series-best seven races and leading in every major statistical category. But were he to make that first-ever championship a reality, a key member of the team won’t be there to celebrate alongside Truex and Furniture Row Racing.

Team owner Barney Visser won’t be in attendance in the championship finale Sunday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway, still recovering from bypass surgery on Nov. 6 following a heart attack two days before.

But the juxtaposition between balancing success on the track with life events off it is something FRR unfortunately is well-versed in this season. Truex’s longtime girlfriend, Sherry Pollex, is battling a recurrence of ovarian cancer, crew chief Cole Pearn’s close friend died unexpectedly from a bacterial infection in August, and last month crew member James Watson, 55, died after a go-kart team outing on the race weekend at Kansas Speedway.

“It’s definitely been tough at times and rough, but we’ve always been there for each other and made it through,” Truex said. “I think that shows a sign of strength, and hopefully we can rely on that this weekend if things get tough at some point in time.”

Through it all, though, Truex, Pearn, and Furniture Row have not only persevered, they’ve thrived. Truex is one of four drivers vying for the championship Sunday. He is competing against Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Brad Keselowski, with the highest finish among them enough to be crowned the 2017 champion.

“When you’re grieving and having to go through some of the things we’ve gone through, it just leads you to kind of pounding into your work a little bit harder and kind of using that to take your mind off the other things,” Pearn said. “I think that creates a little bit of resolve and a little bit more focus for us.”

The closeness within FRR is the backbone of how the team rose from being a minnow in the NASCAR pond to a big fish that’s qualified for the championship finale two of the past three years.

Because of its headquarters is in Denver, well outside NASCAR’s North Carolina hub, the team faces less personnel turnover than other organizations. The unique location presents assorted logistical challenges, of which FRR combats by operating on a schedule based as if it was in the Eastern time zone. That means most crew members during the week show up to work in the wee hours of the morning, where their counterparts have a more typical schedule.

The bond was on full display Tuesday night as FRR loaded Truex’s two Homestead cars into the hauler to transport to South Florida. As crew members pushed the Toyotas, some shed tears, some pumped fists, while others exchanged high fives and hugs, with Pearn even kissing one crew member on the cheek. During the process, the Phil Collins song “In the Air Tonight” played throughout the shop.

“It was bad ass,” Truex said of seeing the video. “That gives you chills just to see their passion. That’s why we’re where we’re at, no doubt in my mind. It’s that passion. It’s the drive to be the best.”

To win a first series championship, Truex faces stiff competition in Busch, Harvick, and Keselowski, all of whom are former title holders. The thought of winning the championship is something Truex, a 12-year veteran, admits he cannot fathom.

Four years ago, he thought he was on his way out of the Cup Series after his then-team Michael Waltrip Racing was heavily sanctioned in a race manipulation scandal. Truex wasn’t involved nor had any knowledge of the transgression, though in the fallout his sponsor withdrew its support of MWR, which had little recourse but to fold Truex’s team.

By happenstance, FRR was in need of a driver with Kurt Busch leaving the team to join Stewart-Haas Racing. Had FRR not found itself in the market for a new driver, Truex would’ve likely ended up on the sidelines.

Initially the union between driver and team was unsuccessful, with Truex leading just a single lap and ending the 2014 season 24th in the points standings. But toward the latter part of the year things began to change -- “It’s like, ‘OK, I’m in a racecar again,”’ Truex said. “It has four tires, not three.”

That performance uptick carried over to the following season where Truex would score one win and qualified for the championship four. It was seen as an underdog run by a team that had never before consistently been contenders.

Any questions about FRR’s staying power were soundly answered in 2016, with Truex winning four times. The upswing continued this season, firmly placing the team among NASCAR’s upper class and Truex tabbed as the favorite by Las Vegas and the guys he’s racing against.

”I’ve tried along the way to slow down and just enjoy it, each win, and just the accomplishments,” Truex said. “To see the names that have won, just to be a part of that group, would be something special. I know my family would be proud. I’d rather not talk much about it until it happens.”