Martin Truex, Jr. from Mayetta, New Jersey, is hoping to take advantage of an opportunity he describes as “once in a lifetime.” He will pilot Dale Earnhardt Jr’s #8 Chevy for Chance 2 Motorsports, a team owned by Earnhardt Jr and his stepmother, Teresa. Truex Jr.’s first race with the team will be the Hardee’s 250 “under the lights” on Friday, May 2 at Richmond International Raceway. How Earnhardt Jr. picked Truex Jr. to drive for him is remarkable. “You know, we didn’t really have a handful of guys to pick from, so we just kind of sat down and talked about it,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Richie Gilmore, our engine builder at DEI, mentioned Martin as a guy we should look at. I met him down here for the first time last year. He’s a pretty quiet, soft-spoken kind of guy but he has obvious talent and he seems like a good guy to work with. He’s been to the shop and our guys pitted his car at Nashville last week so he has gotten familiar with them.” The team got to know each other even better this past week when Earnhardt Jr. and Truex Jr. were at Richmond International Raceway on April 15 for a test session. “This is our first official test together and it went really good,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “This is the same car we that we ran here last year that we led all those laps with,” Earnhardt Jr. said of the FUNAI 250 race he dominated at Richmond International Raceway last September. “The car seems to be just as fast. I ran a couple of laps this morning and Martin matched my laps all day, so we are pretty excited,” Earnhardt Jr. said. Despite having more experience in a NASCAR Busch North Series car that uses a more forgiving bias-ply tire as opposed to the radial tires used in the NASCAR Busch Series, Truex Jr. is confident he will do well. “I feel really comfortable in the car,” Truex Jr. said. “The biggest thing I have to learn is the tires. I have a little bit of experience running on these tires, so I’m probably one step ahead if I hadn’t run any Busch races with my own stuff. But I can’t wait. I’m really looking forward to coming back for the race.” Earnhardt Jr. plans to run Truex Jr. in as many as seven races this season, but says Truex’s future with the team is up to his new protg. “We are giving him an opportunity to step into some good equipment and I feel like the combination of him and the car are going to be great when we come back to Richmond to race. I’m concerned about the difference in the radial tire, but watching him today proves to me that he can do the job. It takes a driver a while to build up to the difference in the tires and you have to take it easy. He’s done that and to me that is a sign that he’s using his head.” Truex Jr., who won six poles in the NASCAR Busch North Series last season and competed in four NASCAR Busch Series events in 2002, knows that this is his big chance. “My father (former NASCAR Busch North champion Martin Truex, Sr.) has fielded cars for me since I was 11. It’s a chance of a lifetime and a lot of guys like me dream about it every day. This is real fortunate for me to have this opportunity and I’m going to try make the best of it.”(RIR PR)(4-22-2003)
