Former NASCAR driver Regan Smith recently joined the 2014 Cup Series champion, Kevin Harvick, on his Happy Hour podcast on YouTube. During the latest episode, Smith shared how Cole Pearn was the reason behind Furniture Row Racing's success.Pearn joined Furniture Row Racing in 2010 as a team engineer. However, in 2011, he transitioned to JTG Daugherty Racing. Then, in 2012, he was brought back to FRR after the team suffered in the past seasons. Recalling the 2011 season, Smith claimed he was worried about the FRR's performance and worked hard to persuade the team to bring back Pearn.The former NASCAR driver pointed out that midway through the 2012 season, after the Sonoma race, Smith sat down with the team leaders. During the meeting, he suggested the leaders rehire the people who made a significant difference in the team. Recalling the incident, Regan Smith told Harvick [01:36 onwards]:"I can back that statement up simply by saying 2012 we get halfway through the year and I'm losing it; just nothing's going good. Everything that we have been building on for three years—it's like we just threw it all away. It was gone, and we were running terrible.""And I want to say it was after, after Sonoma had had a chat in the rental car heading to the airport with some of the leadership, and I was just said, 'Guys, is, like, what we're doing? Like, can't Can't we go bring some of these guys back? If we know we've got good people that we can get here tomorrow, why don't we do it? And shortly after that, the change was made. And actually, Cole Pearn and Todd Berrier were brought back together."Cole Pearn was later promoted to crew chief of the #78 Chevy in 2014 after Todd Berrier departed with the team to join Joe Gibbs Racing. This made Pearn the first Canadian regular crew chief in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series. Additionally, Pearn led the Cup Series team to win the 2017 championship title with Martin Truex Jr.“We still have unfinished business”: When a former NASCAR Cup Series champion expressed his feelings about Furniture Row Racing's closureDuring the 2018 season, former Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. was featured in an interview with NBC Sports. Following the interview, Truex Jr. became candid about his feelings about Furniture Row Racing's closure due to a lack of funding.The NASCAR Cup Series team made its debut in November 2005. The team faced challenges during the initial years but won its first race in 2011 with Regan Smith at Darlington Raceway. Following the team's maiden win, Truex Jr. joined the team in 2014 and piloted the #78 Chevy for the team.Three years later, Martin Truex Jr., with his exceptional performance, won the 2017 Cup Series championship title. Then, in the next season, 2018, he finished as the runner-up. Following that, the FRR announced the team's closure from the next season.Reflecting on that, the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion stated:“While I am saddened by today’s announcement, I totally understand the decision. Barney Visser, Joe Garone, and the entire Furniture Row Racing team took me in while my career was in a bad place, and together we reached the pinnacle of the sport. I will forever be grateful to each and every one of them, and also to Furniture Row, Denver Mattress, and the Visser family."Martin Truex Jr. completed 180 races in the #78 car for Furniture Row Racing. Additionally, he helped FRR add 17 wins, 56 top-fives, 91 top-10s, and 12 poles to the team stats.