DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Martin Truex Sr. had a familiar deckhand this week when he took a fishing trip off the coast of South Florida. Truex first brought his son, a teenager at the time, into the family business aboard a clamming boat. The son would rise before dawn, sometimes sprung to life from the chilly bite of the ocean or the ruckus of choppy waves.
Martin Truex Jr. knew early he wouldn’t anchor to a life at sea.
Martin Truex Jr. removes his helmet after qualifying for the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Martin Truex Jr. stands on pit road prior to his qualifying run for the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)“I just remember trying to stay awake in between tows – ‘This is so boring,'” he recalled, laughing. “Then you got to go outside and freeze your you-know-what off for 30 minutes at a time. I remember it being tough and thinking that I don’t want to do this for the rest of my life.”
On this recent trip, he and his father skipped chasing the clams and cast a wider net. They caught three sailfish on their first day out while chatting about business and life but focusing most of all on simply having a good time.
“We never even talked about racing,” Martin Sr. said.