Dissecting the winning combination of Truex, Pearn with second title on line

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Martin Truex Jr. and crew chief Cole Pearn have been a lethal combination since their first season together in 2015. Following a championship-winning tenure with Furniture Row Racing, even a massive move from Colorado to North Carolina as they transitioned to Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season didn’t stop them. The pair earned seven victories, including three in the playoffs leading up to Sunday’s Championship 4 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). So, what makes them such a dynamic duo? “Between him (Truex) and Cole, I think they've got a great relationship going, and I think they're awful good,” team owner Joe Gibbs said. "You can't shake him up. … Some of them (drivers) get out of the car and you can read them, extremely upset, all the things ‑‑ that Martin, in our meetings, very calculated, smart.” Gibbs feels the champion driver-crew chief pairing has been able to bring many positives to the table for the entire organization. The proof is in the pudding as they prepare to battle against Joe Gibbs Racing counterparts Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, along with Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick, for a coveted second championship on Sunday night in South Florida. RELATED: Why Martin Truex Jr. will win the 2019 championship Three JGR machines in the Championship 4 isn’t just happenstance. Gibbs insists hard work as one collective effort and the Truex-Pearn combination have played significant roles in the results. “Having him come in with Cole has really meant a lot to our race team because what you're trying to do during the week is solve problems,” Gibbs said. “Four teams work together. “What I love about our sport, then you go to the racetrack and you've got four individual efforts going after it, and that's hard to do, put all that together,” he added. “But I think they've been a big part of what's happened this year, and they've added a lot.” After the Busch Pole qualifying session on Saturday was canceled in lieu of a 50-minute practice session due to Friday’s heavy rain, Truex is set to take off from the third starting position on Sunday afternoon, directly behind Hamlin on the pole, while Busch flanks him in fourth. While finding the front won’t be an issue since they start there, it’s staying there throughout the entire 267-lap title bout at the 1.5-mile oval that’s the tall task. But Truex and Pearn have proven time and time again they are the best when it comes to races that experience transitions from daytime to nighttime. A pair of Coca-Cola 600 victories, a Southern 500 win and their 2017 championship victory in Miami are proof. Truex agrees it has always been a strength for Pearn and him. “I think it's because we plan ahead, go off past history, have a good understanding of that, and confidence in our decisions,” Truex said. “We can live with ourselves if we're off a little bit maybe in the daytime, kind of understanding what it's going to do. It's hard to do that, say we're going to be off a little bit, but how much? Cole does a good job of being confident in himself. I follow suit.” It’s that impeccable confidence they have in each other that will make them extremely tough to beat. What’s even scarier is Truex’s relaxed approach as he looks to elevate his legacy in the sport. “... It's still a race,” Truex said. “Just like last week was a race. You want to be the best. Everybody wants to win.” While JGR has used synergy to achieve their success this season, don’t think Truex and Pearn will shy away from taking their own path in order to steal the glory from their teammates. “Yeah, we build cars together, we go through the week and crew chief and engineer say, I want to go down this road. The other one says, I want to go here," Truex said. "You end up at different places. Your decisions throughout the weekend take you different places. That's all open information. It's going to continue to be that way.”