Hard Luck Finally Turns Around For Martin Truex, Jr.

Martin Truex, Jr.

Todd Warshaw/NASCAR via Getty Images

Martin Truex, Jr.’s record-breaking win in Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 was more than just a dominating victory – it was a turning point for a hard-luck team that has been so close to victory only to see it slip away time and time again that Truex had earned the nickname "The Heartbreak Kid".

Finally, on Sunday night, their luck finally changed, and that might be the final piece to the puzzle that gets Truex and his Furniture Row Racing team back on top of their game.

This Sprint Cup season should have been a stand-out year for Truex. Certainly all the pieces are there – veteran driver, Toyota horsepower, and momentum from their best season ever in 2015

Truex and his team have been competitive to the point of dominating in more than one race this season, they don’t have the results to show for it.

Why? Let’s just say that if it wasn’t for bad luck, this team would have no luck at all.

See what we mean:

Denny Hamlin (11) edges Truex (78) at the line to win the 2016 Daytona 500

Chris Trotman/NASCAR via Getty Images

-At the season-opening race at Daytona, Truex has worked his way to the front of the field after starting in the rear in a backup car and grabbed the lead coming into the final turn before being nipped at the line by .010 seconds by Denny Hamlin

-The following week at Atlanta, he restarted fourth for the final green-white-checkered shootout but spun the tires on the restart and ended up seventh. To add insult to injury, crew chief Cole Pearn was suspended for one race for a roof flap violation.

-Next, at Auto Club Speedway, he was running comfortably in the top 10 when he got caught up in a wreck with Joey Logano with 60 laps to go, falling to a 32^nd-place finish.

-He led 141 laps at Texas, but ended up sixth after getting trying to go the distance on old tires.

-He dominated the race at Kansas, again leading most laps, when an unscheduled pit stop for a broken bolt relegated him to a 14^th-place finish.

And just three weeks ago at Dover, Truex pitted from the lead during a caution with 58 laps to go but got beat by Jimmie Johnson and Mat Kenseth, who won the race off pit road with two-tire stops. Truex lined up behind Johnson and got collected after Johnson stumbled on the restart, coming home ninth.

After the Dover race, a heartbroken Truex believed all they needed was their luck to turn around.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"] "I don’t know when our luck will change, all I know is that we’re bringing really fast cars to the track and contending for the win," Truex said after the Dover race. "It’s got to turn around, we’re too good of a team not to have a victory by now."

Fast forward to Sunday night, and as the laps wound down, you couldn’t help but wonder – what else can go wrong for this team? Will they make it on fuel – or would they go home disappointed again?

Even Truex had to admit – those thoughts did cross his mind as the checkered flag loomed closer

"There was a few moments towards the end of the race where I was just thinking, 'Please, I don't want a caution’, but you're not really saying 'what the hell is going to happen this time?’ said Truex. "You're trying to stay positive and stay focused and do the things you need to do, but the last couple laps is a little bit more difficult when you're getting close and you just want to see that white flag, and you kind of have a finger or two crossed on the steering wheel there trying to get to the end.

But to get to the end, it all had to come together, and somehow…it did.

Truex’s first lucky break came during an early pit stop when it looked like he might have a tire going down. He didn’t find out until after the race how close to the edge he really was.

"He was probably a lap away from blowing a right front," said Pearn. "I wasn't going to tell them that, but it was close."

Even their pit stall selection was a factor is getting Truex to Victory Lane.

By virtue of winning the pole for Sunday’s race, Truex was able to get the first stall on pit road, which proved to be a lucky break during a couple of slow pit stops – all Truex had to do was roll four feet to beat everyone off pit road and stay out in front.

So a stout race car, a good qualifying effort, great pit selection, enough gas in the tank, and a little good luck was all Truex needed.

Easy, right?

Martin Truex, Jr. celebrates in Victory Lane at Charlotte

Todd Warshaw/NASCAR via Getty Images

"The whole weekend was really one of them fairy-tale weekends where it seemed like we couldn't do anything wrong," said Truex. "It just seemed like everything was going the way we needed it to do, and then we come down to the end of the race and we're out there leading, and I'm like, all right, when is the caution going to come out, and it didn't. So things went the way we needed them to."

Truex has been through more than his fair share of trials and tribulations, from having his spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup taken away from him in 2013 to losing his sponsor and his ride at Michael Waltrip Racing.

In 2014, he landed a ride with FRR, but later that year his longtime girlfriend Sherry Pollex was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and underwent chemotherapy, and Truex’s career went into a slump – posting just a single top five all season.

But last year, with Pollex’s cancer in remission, Truex and FRR enjoyed their best season ever, with Truex scoring the team’s second Cup victory with a win at Pocono. The win earned the team a berth in the Chase that ultimately got them into the final four, where Truex finished four behind eventual champion Kyle Busch.

It’s been having to deal with all those trials and tribulations that has given Truex a different outlook when dealing with disappointment on the racetrack.

"I kind of look at things a lot different than I used to," said Truex. "I used to get mad when I didn't win, and things didn't go your way you'd say 'why me, and why does this keep happening?’ But after you go through something like that…it changes your outlook. You don't say why me, and you realize that a good day at the racetrack or any day at the racetrack is a good day, and the bad days really aren't so bad.

"I've learned a lot from Sherry. I think with her, it's just always nice to have somebody there that tells you it's going to be — you're going to be okay. Everything is fine. It's just — I would say it was more so a few years ago where she probably was more of an influence than she is now.

"Whether we win, lose or draw, we put our best effort out there and we're proud of what we've done, and I feel like we've got a lot to be proud of. We'll just keep doing our thing and trying to win some more races."

All the pieces are there – all they need is a little more good luck.

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