BACK TO GALLERIES
Martin Truex Jr. 2017 Season Recap
By Kelly Crandall | Published: December 5, 2017 14
Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
1 of 14
Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 78 Toyota for Furniture Row Racing, captured his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2017. Here are some of the highlights from his remarkable season.
2 of 14
Chris Trotman/Getty Images
Three weeks into the season Truex was in Victory Lane, an early sign of things to come. The win was his first at Las Vegas and came when fortune, which had not been so kind to Truex in the past, went his way with leader Brad Keselowski suffering an issue with two laps to go. Truex also swept all three of the race stages. Also a sign of things to come.
3 of 14
Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
Truex's third win of the season came in early July at Kentucky Speedway. It was this race where Truex & Co. made it very, very clear how dominant they were. In addition to leading 152 of the race's 274 laps (and winning all three stages), Truex spent much of the race cruising to margins of over 10 seconds on the competition.
4 of 14
Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
It was an up and down summer. While he remained the most dominant car, Truex lost key members of his pit crew for a couple of weeks following a heated moment between the No. 78 team and the No. 18 team after Truex and Kyle Busch crashed racing for the lead at Indianapolis.
5 of 14
Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Two weeks after Indy it was back to Victory Lane for Truex, his fourth win of the season. But it came as crew chief Cole Pearn suffered from the unexpected loss of his childhood best friend.
6 of 14
Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
As the playoffs approached it was clear Truex would be the regular season champion, it was just a question of how many wins and playoff points he'd have. With two races left, Truex cliched the title at Darlington Raceway, but did so swallowing the disappointment of coming within two laps of winning back-to-back Southern 500s before a tire blew.
7 of 14
Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
Darlington was disappointing but Richmond was infuriating. As Truex was officially crowned the Regular Season Champion, it was anything but joyous in the No. 78 camp. Truex & Co. were frustrated yet another win had slipped through their fingers because of a late caution erasing his lead and then resulting in a Turn 1 crash on the subsequent restart.
8 of 14
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
At the end of the regular season, Truex had already shown he was the class of the field. In 26 races, Truex had earned four victories with 53 playoff points and 18 stage wins.
9 of 14
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
It took no time at all for Truex to start flexing his muscle in the playoffs. Overcoming a pit road speeding penalty early on at Chicagoland Speedway, Truex won the opening race of the playoffs for the second straight year and automatically advanced into the Round of 12.
10 of 14
Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
The second round of the postseason started just like the first: Truex hoisting the trophy. He led 91 laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway and clinched his spot in the Round of 8, which Truex had missed last season.
11 of 14
Chris Trotman/Getty Images
The seventh win of the season at Kansas Speedway was special for many reasons. It was a healing moment for Furniture Row Racing after the passing of crewmember Jim Watson less than 24 hours before. Second, it gave Truex a record five straight wins on 1.5-mile tracks (Kansas, Kentucky, Chicago, Charlotte, Kansas).
12 of 14
Chris Trotman/Getty Images
With his spot in the Championship 4 secured through points, Truex arrived at Phoenix with his eye on the prize and finished third while the team thought of owner Barney Visser, who had undergone successful bypass surgery after suffering a heart attack.
13 of 14
Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
Truex capped off his dominating season in grand fashion at Homestead-Miami Speedway. His eighth win of the season secured the championship as he held off Kyle Busch. Of course, Truex did so by leading 78 laps.
14 of 14
Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Eight wins, 19 stage victories, 2,253 laps led and the championship made Truex the toast of the town at the awards in Las Vegas. But Truex and girlfriend Sherry Pollex, who has been an inspiration to Truex and many others during her battle with ovarian cancer, ended the year as the winners of the prestigious Myers Brothers Award.