This past weekend’s NASCAR national series slate at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway saw a single family name grace the winner’s column — Truex.
On Saturday, Ryan Truex earned his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win at the one-mile concrete oval. Two days later, older brother Martin Truex Jr. broke a 54-race winless streak in the NASCAR Cup Series Wurth 400.
Both drivers wheeled No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas in the process.
The duel victories for the Truex family marked somewhat of a homecoming as Ryan and Martin grew up just over two hours away in Mayetta, N.J.
“Unbelievable weekend,” Truex Jr. said. “Love coming up here to Dover. It’s been an awesome track for us over the years, for me and our team. It’s amazing to get back to victory lane at my first home track.
“Obviously a special weekend for the family with Ryan winning Saturday in his first Xfinity win, so pretty cool to do that and get added to that list of brothers that have swept the weekend.”
Truex Jr.’s win was the 32nd in his Cup Series career, and his fourth at the Monster Mile, where he also won his first Cup Series race in 2007.
Martin Truex Jr. burns it down on the frontstretch at Dover. (David Moulthrop Photo)
Team owner for both entries in NASCAR’s top two divisions, Joe Gibbs, knows firsthand how special it is to win with family alongside.
Racing has been a family affair at JGR since the team’s inception in 1991, with both Gibbs’ sons J.D. and Coy Gibbs co-owning the race team before their deaths in recent years.
Joe Gibbs’ grandson Ty Gibbs won last year’s Xfinity Series championship before vaulting to the Cup Series this season.
“Yeah, I thought it was great for the Truex family, and to have the dad here and everybody celebrating, I think obviously it’s a first for us,” Gibbs said. “Never had two brothers like that win races on the weekend.”
Ryan Truex’s Saturday triumph was memorable, as the 31-year-old broke through in victory lane after 13 years of bouncing around different rides across NASCAR’s three national tours.
Running a partial schedule for JGR for the second consecutive season, Truex knew he had to make the most of a golden opportunity aboard one of the top rides in Xfinity Series competition.
“I was definitely emotional. People that know me, know that I’m not an emotional guy,” Truex said. “It took me a minute before I could key up and say anything because I couldn’t really talk.
“It has been such a long road and a lot of self-doubt along the way and wondering if it is ever going to happen, ‘Am I good enough to do this?’ It is so easy to doubt yourself and be down on yourself, but you just keep digging, keep pushing through, just a huge relief to get the white flag.
Ryan Truex stands on top of his car after winning Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Dover. (David Moulthrop Photo)
“When I got the white flag, I knew it was over,” Truex continued. “I just was trying to get it back around as smoothly as I could. I was definitely choking up coming to the checkered for sure.”
It was a special moment for the entire family, with their father Martin Truex alongside his two sons as they embraced and smiled at an achievement that was years in the making.
“Ryan has been through a lot,” Martin Truex Jr. said. “He’s really worked hard, and he’s gotten beat down and knocked down a lot and been through some tough times that he’s had to kind of persevere through. So I was just really happy for him.”
With the Truex sweep at Dover, the two brothers joined an exclusive list alongside Kurt and Kyle Busch, Kenny, Rusty and Mike Wallace, Ward and Jeff Burton, and Darrell and Michael Waltrip as the only siblings to win on the same weekend in NASCAR national series competition.
“It’s not a long list of brothers that have swept a weekend in NASCAR racing history,” Truex Jr. said. “To be on that list with some of the guys that have done it is really, really cool for both of us and our whole family.”
Keyword: Truex: A Family Affair In Dover