This was not an easy year for Martin Truex Jr. and his team.
But it ended up being the most special year.
It is a year that saw a kid from Mt. Brydges, Ont., by the name of Cole Pearn become truly rewarded for all the hard work he put in over the years in garages in the area and at Delaware Speedway learning a craft that took him to the top level of his profession.
On Sunday afternoon, Pearn, the crew chief for Martin Truex Jr. shared the Monster Energy Series of NASCAR championship as the #78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota Camry captured the checkered flag in the final race of the season.
Martin Truex Jr. piloted his car around the track at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with Pearn’s voice in his headset as they strategized the path that would win them the race and ultimately, their first-ever title.
Truex Jr. stated afterward that he didn’t have the fastest car on the day. Still, he held off all challenges from Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson following a restart with 34 laps to go.
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At some point shortly after the race or in the near future or possibly not even until later this off-season, Truex Jr. and Pearn will sit down and reflect on what they have been through together over the past four years.
There was the elevation of Pearn to crew chief in 2014. There was the ovarian cancer diagnosis for Truex’s girlfriend, Sherry Pollex. There was Truex’s decision to keep racing. There was the very sad death of Pearn’s best friend, Jacob Damen in August of this past year. Damen contracted a bacterial infection and passed away at just 35 years of age. There was the death of crew member, Jim Watson, who suffered a heart attack at Kansas Speedway in October.
And you have to know there were so many more moments, both great and not so great, that they shared in their climb to the top.
It truly did start at the bottom.
Truex Jr. did not have a ride in 2013. He spent time wondering if his career was finished before it really got going. He credits luck and timing for its revival.
Others around NASCAR point to his ability and his crew.
Pearn starred at Delaware and then climbed to the CASCAR series, which is now known as Pinty’s.
He graduated from Waterloo with a mechanical engineering degree and went to North Carolina and Richard Childress Racing with Kevin Harvick’s team in 2007. Pearn was an engineer there and then went to Furniture Row Racing, only to leave. He returned as lead race engineer in 2012 and when he took over as crew chief less than two years later, he was the first Canadian ever to hold a position like that in Cup Series racing.
Not long after, Pearn was the first Canadian crew chief to win a Cup race.
The winning continued and on Sunday, it reached the highest height.
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