The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team is going to receive some assistance from a championship-winning crew chief. Martin Truex Jr. will reunite with Cole Pearn for the trip to Sonoma Raceway, albeit with the former No. 78 crew chief taking on a new role.
FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass first provided the news on June 7. He noted that the regular engineer for the No. 19 team has a wedding the same weekend as the Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway. The NASCAR Roster Portal also confirmed that Pearn will join the team for a one-off appearance while working as the engineer for the race weekend.
Pearn has several years of experience as a Cup Series engineer. He worked for multiple teams, including JTG Daugherty Racing, Richard Childress Racing, and Furniture Row Racing. Pearn then took over as Truex’s crew chief for the 2015 season, and he remained in that role through the 2019 season.
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Sonoma Serves as a Fitting Location for a Reunion
GettyThe No. 78 team celebrates a 2019 win at Sonoma.
With Pearn returning to Truex’s side, albeit in a different role, there were immediate conversations about the potential upside. Will the No. 19 reach Victory Lane for the first time as Truex wins his fourth race at Sonoma? If he can achieve this goal, he will break a tie with Hall of Famer for the second-most wins at the road course behind Jeff Gordon (five).
The site of the reunion is actually a fitting location considering Truex’s tenure at Furniture Row Racing. He and Pearn won 24 total Cup Series races together, including three at NASCAR’s road courses.
Pearn and Truex first won a road course race together in 2017. They conquered Watkins Glen International during an eight-win season that ended with them celebrating a championship. They then won back-to-back races at Sonoma Raceway in 2018 and 2019. Now they will work together once again as Pearn adapts to the Next Gen era.
Truex Sits Well Above the Playoff Cutline
GettyMartin Truex Jr. is well above the playoff cutline.
While the No. 19 JGR Toyota Camry has not reached Victory Lane in 2022, Truex still sits in a favorable position with 11 races remaining in the regular season. He is fifth overall in the championship standings and well above the cutline after accumulating three stage wins and 106 stage points.
Truex has put himself in this position by performing well throughout the regular season. He has remained consistent overall by finishing inside the top 20 in 11 of the 15 races. He has an average finish of 13.1 along with seven top-10 finishes and two top-fives.
Sonoma obviously stands out as a track where Truex can win his first race of the year, especially with both James Small and Cole Pearn supporting him. There are multiple other tracks that also stand out, including Watkins Glen International, Pocono Raceway, and Richmond Raceway.
Truex has six wins combined between these tracks that still remain in the regular season, and he will enter the respective race weekends with the confidence that he can reach Victory Lane and officially secure his spot in the 16-driver playoff field.
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Martin Truex Jr. Reunites With Championship-Winning Crew Chief