Truex takes long road back to Victory Lane

On Sunday, the 34-year-old New Jersey native broke through by winning the Axalta 'We Paint Winners' 400 at Pocono Raceway, ending a 69-race winless streak.

But the road back to Victory Lane hasn't been easy for Truex.

Here is a bit of what he has faced since September of 2013:

• Losing his ride at Michael Waltrip Racing due to race manipulation scandal at Richmond that saw him removed from the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and eventually his sponsor, NAPA, leave the organization.

• Longtime girlfriend Sherry Pollex was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last summer.

• Truex also had his worst full-time Sprint Cup Series season in 2014, his first with the one-car Furniture Row outfit based out of Denver, Colorado.

• Last week, Truex's grandma passed away.

Following the victory at Pocono, Truex reflected on the long, adversity-filled journey he has faced in the past 21 months.



"I knew it was going to be a tough road to get back. I felt at the time -- I felt lucky. At the end of that season (2013) I felt really fortunate that there was a great ride open with the 78. They were just coming off their best year ever, and went into last year honestly feeling like, OK, this is going to be good. This might take a little time to get things figured out, but it's going to be good and we're going to pick up kind of where I left off, and it was just the complete opposite. It was just miserable. Nothing went our way, nothing -- we had no speed. We couldn't make the cars work; they felt terrible to me. They were so inconsistent, you just never knew what you were going to get.

"And then obviously Sherry's situation happened, and it was like, all right, this is when you show people what you're made of. She showed me what she was made of, and I was like, 'Wow, if she can do that, I can do this.' This is easy. Honestly, just learned a lot from her and worked hard, never gave up, believed in myself the whole time, and that's what it takes.


"You've got to surround yourself with good people, and I'm just thankful for Barney Visser (team owner of Furniture Row Racing), for Joe Garone (Furniture Row Racing General Manager) and making good decisions over the off-season, giving Cole (Pearn, crew chief) the reins, and he took it from there, honestly.

"It was definitely the hardest thing I've ever been through, but when you get through something like that, it makes you pretty damned proud of what you've accomplished, and this is easily the biggest win of my career.”

WATCH: Brian France happy for Truex | 1-on-1 with Truex

The turnaround with the 78 team has been remarkable, and it all starts with Pearn. The first-year pit boss is guiding Truex through the best stretch of his career and in recent weeks, Truex had been knocking on the door of getting his third career Sprint Cup victory. He led the most laps at Kansas (95 laps) but a late call for fuel only led to a ninth-place finish. He led the most laps at Charlotte (131 laps) but finished fifth. He did the same thing again at Dover and finished sixth.



"It would be easy the last three weeks to get down and to hang your head and to make excuses and honestly just be disappointed, but they weren't. They were excited. They knew we were going to get this win, and they knew we were going to get it soon, and they worked hard. They didn't lose focus of how we got to where we're at, and honestly, that's what pushed us over the edge and was able to make the difference today.”

Truex's peers were truly happy to see him get the win. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was among those expressing his happiness for his buddy and even paying him a visit in Victory Lane.

"They're doing some pretty cool stuff being that far out of the inner circle," Earnhardt said of the team's shop in Colorado being far removed from the NASCAR hub of North Carolina. "Hats off to them. It's been a matter of time for them. Truex is a hell of a race car driver. He's always been a great driver."

Yet, the period of on-track struggle is something Earnhardt can relate to.

"He's just had some poor luck over the years and trying to get in the right program is really difficult. I know myself how difficult it is to get in the right situation and he's in a great one right now."



And the hunger to get back to Victory Lane will return quickly.



"He'll talk to his guys and by Tuesday, he'll be wanting to win the next one. That tank runs empty pretty quick. The urge and the thrill to be back in Victory Lane will be back in two or three days. He is going to get a phone full of text messages and he's got one coming from me.

"Real proud, been a great friend of mine for a long time. We're partners in a couple business deals and land together, so we've been together for a long time as pals."

WATCH: Dale Jr. 'impressed' by No. 78 team | Truex 'On Cloud Nine' at Pocono



Race runner-up Kevin Harvick was also happy for Truex.

"Obviously you always want to win, but when you can see something come full circle like their situation, it makes you proud to know them and be a part of the sport in general, to see how they've supported Sherry and all the things that they've gone through."



Jimmie Johnson, who finished third to Truex at Pocono, mentioned that the win was big just because of everything Truex has overcome professionally.

"When you go back to the Richmond race and the challenges that he has had, he's had more to overcome personally and professionally than probably anybody sitting in a seat right now, and for him to still walk in the garage every week with a smile on his face, climb in the car, put in the effort, be the great guy he is I think speaks volumes."

The well wishes have left Truex humbled and grateful for the support from the garage community.



"It's really cool, especially after the last -- the way the last year and a half or so has gone for me, up until this year, I think that people kind of got a little bit of an insight into what I'm made of and what kind of person I am, which is cool. Sucks I had to show it sometimes, but you know, just definitely a humbling feeling to have the respect of those guys because there's a lot of great people in this garage area."