“They don’t have to figure out”: When Martin Truex Jr. revealed what he lacked against Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin

Martin Truex Jr. entered his rookie NASCAR Cup Series season with Dale Earnhardt Inc. in 2006. The two-time Xfinity Series champion was fresh from his 2005 title and began fielding a full-time schedule in the #1 Chevy after running a handful of Cup races since 2004.

However, unlike NASCAR legends like Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin, Truex Jr. couldn't run under a single team for long and had to switch garages multiple times before he got a big break at Furniture Row Racing. Truex Jr.'s signs of dominance became more prominent after coming under the leadership of his new crew chief Cole Pearn.

Two years later, in 2016, after joining the team, MTJ expressed his desire to stay at FRR for a long time. Reasoning his wish, the #78 driver cited examples of Johnson, who ran with Hendrick Motorsports during his entire career and got seven championships for the team, Busch, who stayed for 15 years at Joe Gibbs Racing and earned two titles, and Hamlin, who has been with JGR since his debut and had claimed 54 wins for Mr. Gibbs.

Martin Truex Jr. outlined that since the drivers stayed with a single outfit for such a long time, they didn't have to worry about team integration and other related things. They were only concerned about addressing the rule changes and stock car packages, the rest didn't need 'figuring out.'

“DEI (Dale Earnhardt Inc.) fell apart. I stayed there too long. It was a tough situation. You look at Jimmie Johnson. You look at Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch. They get with a team and they just keep building on that foundation. Year in, year out, they’re the guys to beat because they have that around them...All they have is the car and the rule changes and those kind of things. They don’t have to figure out everything else that goes along with it,” Truex Jr. said via Motorsport.

Before joining the Denver, Colorado-based outfit, MTJ had two wins on his Cup resume. After spending a winless debut year with Furniture Row Racing, the New Jersey native recorded his first win for the team at the 2015 Pocono race.

How Martin Truex Jr. emerged as a NASCAR Cup Series champion under Furniture Row Racing's banner

FRR has fielded many talents, such as Kurt Busch, Joe Nemechek, Kenny Wallace, and Regan Smith, but the team rose to fame during Martin Truex Jr.'s five-year run.

Pearn and MTJ sent statements through the paddock about their performance surge. The #78 Toyota driver concluded the 2016 season with four wins and eight top-5s. In the 2017 season, Truex Jr. recorded four victories in the regular season and exhibited an exponential rise in the final 10-race slate, collecting four wins, two runner-ups, and a staggering nine top-5s, securing the Cup Series title.

Martin Truex Jr. registered four more wins in 2018, his final year with Furniture Row Racing. The now-retired driver's expertise helped FRR rake in 17 victories before he moved to Joe Gibbs Racing.

The future NASCAR Hall of Famer concluded his full-time Cup Series career with 34 wins, 147 top-5s, 25 poles, and a domination of 12,747 laps.