DOVER, Del. (AP) — Martin Truex Jr. grew up in New Jersey wanting to follow his dad into racing. Martin Truex, though, mostly raced on free weekends when he wasn’t running Sea Watch International, which harvests and processes clam products.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver worked as a teenager on his dad’s clamming boat, often rising before dawn ahead of a day spent on choppy waters, knowing even then that life at sea wasn’t for him.
“I’m glad I figured out how to go fast so I could get the hell off that boat,” Truex said.
Truex got off the boat, into stock cars and — after a bumpy start to his career — became one of the more dominant drivers of his era. He had achieved just about all he could — except celebrate with his brother as winners on a NASCAR weekend.
With dad at the track, Truex mastered the Monster Mile on a Monday for the third time in his career, the former NASCAR champion snapping a 54-race winless streak overall in the Cup Series at Dover Motor Speedway.