Martin Truex Jr. racing under a storm cloud at DEI
Martin Truex Jr.'s road to NASCAR appeared to be paved with gold.
So far it's been anything but.
The New Jersey native, who broke in with tons of promise, has had a dark shadow hanging over his head - along with the entire Dale Earnhardt, Inc. team - for much of his time in the sport's top level.
Last year the talk was all about Dale Jr. leaving the team. This year it's about Truex' contract, and just recently there's been talk about teammate Mark Martin moving to Hendrick Motorsports next year.
The fact is Truex hasn't had a clean, controversy-free season at DEI. Not yet at least.
"No, I really haven't to be honest with you,"
Truex said this week. "I think part of that is DEI being Dale Earnhardt, Incorporated. It's always been under a tough microscope. I think whether it was before Dale Jr. or after Dale Jr. it's always been that way."
It's not all his fault, but he's right in the midst of the storm cloud.
And when Truex talks you can hear the deep frustration in his voice.
He made the Chase for the Championship last year, but now he's sitting 17th. His performance - the team's performance - will have to change fast if he's going to have any shot at getting into the Chase.
While there have been some good runs, he's not been great. Adding to the performance misery is the off-track nonsense. Face it, DEI gets slammed just for being DEI. DEI head Teresa Earnhardt often unfairly becomes fodder for talk radio chatter by callers and hosts.
"I think a lot of the people are harsh in their opinions of DEI and what they are, you know, the job they're able to do,"
Truex said. "I think the perception of DEI is not as good as what it really is. So that's been tough at times. Seems like I've always had to stick up for them when there is really nothing to stick up for. So it's been a weird situation. It's always been something a little different. But there's always been somebody trying to, you know, make their job a little tougher than it should be I think."
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
Truex got his start in New Jersey, following in his father's footsteps. Along the way he won a bunch of races, including the 1999 Turkey Derby Classic at Wall Stadium. He's also won two titles on the Nationwide level. And he moved gradually into Sprint Cup at DEI.
A year ago with Junior leaving Truex was fixing to be the man at DEI. He may be the man, but clearly the team is off a tick.
Truex said it's easy to not let the off-track nonsense get in the way of his driving because he's a racer and that's all he's ever done.
No one would blame him, though, if the constant chatter and controversy had a role in his performance. Now there's the talk of his uncertain future.
There's a lot of pressure on his shoulders, and he's got mixed feelings about carrying that load, too.
"I'm not one to just walk out and take the easy road,"
he said. "I don't mind the challenge. I think if we succeed and we do our job, it's a lot more gratifying. We've got more pride in it."
Still he's an underdog.
"I kind of like that situation. But at the same time if things aren't going right and people are pointing the finger and asking why you're not getting the job done, you've got to take the heat then, too,"
Truex said. "So it's a tough situation either way."
Truex said he's enjoyed his time at DEI and he's still having fun. No surprise that he won't show his hand on what his plans are other than saying he and DEI are working hard to put things together for next year. It has taken a little bit longer than everyone expected, he added.
"For me it's just trying to get comfortable and be comfortable in the position I'm in - what they're doing and the direction they're headed for the future, so I can make sure that we can be together for a long time,"
he said.
Interestingly Dale Jr. used some of those same reasons for leaving. Considering his performance and the level of frustration in his voice you wonder if the future for Truex means moving away from the storm cloud in order to get ahead, just like Junior did.
Sometimes the grass is really greener.
