Truex family releases statement after death of father Martin Truex Sr. at 66

Today, the Truex family announced the unfortunate passing of Martin Truex Sr., father of Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Truex. In 2023, the family celebrated as the brothers won both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series races at Dover.

Over the years, Martin Truex Sr. has been at the race track as a fan, racer, and father. His own career in the Grand National East Series and what is now the Xfinity Series inspired his sons to race. They aren’t too bad at it, either.

The Truex family released this statement today in the wake of Martin Truex Sr.’s death. He was 66.

“We are devastated by the loss of our father,” the statement reads, via Kelly Crandall of RACER. “Simply put, he was our hero and a great man. We appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers and ask for privacy at this time.”

This is awful news at a time that should be exciting or the Truex family. Martin Jr. is entering the Daytona 500 with Tricon Garage. He doesn’t have the pressure of a full-time season on his shoulders. Ryan is now the reserve driver at Joe Gibbs Racing.

During his own racing career, Martin Truex Sr. did have moderate success. He won a race at New Hampshire in the Grand National East Series. Of course, that was just his NASCAR accolades.

Racing for his own organization, Truex Motorsports, Martin Sr. would have top-5 finishes, pole awards, and more at a number of race tracks. Of course, we have seen his son Martin Truex Jr. win at a number of those tracks.

Martin Truex Jr. attempting Daytona 500 with Tricon

We have known for months that Martin Truex Jr. was going to be in this race. We did not know who it was going to be with until rumors began to leak a week or two ago. Now we know Cole Pearn will be his crew chief once again.

Bass Pro Shops on the car will be very familiar. Seeing the No. 56 car on the track will be interesting, though. There are so many open entries in the race now and that means multiple teams are going to go home early.

Tricon Garage is known for its work in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. They are the premier Toyota organization in the series. With an ownership team including former Cup driver David Gilliland, the organization has the right people in place to succeed.

“It’s going to be a really cool deal to be able to work with Cole and have the number 56 again,” said Truex Jr. via a team release. “I really appreciate everyone at Bass Pro Shops, TRICON and Toyota helping put this together to go have some fun, and I can’t think of a better time to go win the thing for Johnny Morris.”