NASCAR: Martin Truex Jr. Free Agency Update

By Christopher Olmstead | Jun 12, 2015

Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Aside from Danica Patrick, Martin Truex Jr. is currently set to be the other driver that is going to headline the 2015 NASCAR free agent class. Truex Jr. is in the midst of an unbelievable season with the No. 78 team and Furniture Row Racing. Through 14 races this season Truex Jr. has finished outside of the top-10 only once, winning his first race of the season last weekend in Pocono.

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Heading into the season there was some uncertainty about the future of Truex Jr. with the No. 78 team given his dreadful performance in 2014. 14 races and 13 top-10’s later and now the question is whether or not Furniture Row Racing will be able to get Truex Jr. to stay. Earlier this week Truex Jr. spoke with ESPN about his contract talks with the team.

"We haven’t really talked about it. You know, with the team that we’re building, that we’ve built, I feel like this is the kind of situation that I’ve really looked for my whole career. … I hope [the win sparks talks]. I’m ready to go, so we’ll have to figure it all out and see what happens with it."

Later on in the week No. 78 Chevy owner Barney Visser was interviewed on Sirius Satellite Radio’s NASCAR channel and Truex Jr. and 2016 came up. Visser was open about his desire to being Truex Jr. back but he also talked about some challenges that the team might be facing.

"We’re looking for sponsorship. We need to get some of that in place to negotiate the kind of contract (for Truex) that we’d both like to see. It may involve a change in manufacturer here. We’re not sure. There just doesn’t seem to be any money out of General Motors and probably never will be for us. So something’s got to give. We’ll see where it goes."

If Visser and Furniture Row Racing are looking to change manufacturers Ford and Toyota might both be waiting with open arms as both are looking to add cars to their NASCAR fleet. Another wrinkle in this story could be the aforementioned Patrick. If SHR decides to part ways with Patrick after 2015 they will be looking to fill a void on their team. If Truex Jr. is looking to remain with Chevy and move onto a larger team it could end up being a perfect fit.

That being said, there is no word at this time about what Patrick and SHR will be doing at the end of the season. More importantly, even if SHR and Patrick went their separate ways there is no indication at this time that they would have interest in Truex Jr. joining their stable.

As things stand now it would seem that Truex Jr. does have interest in remaining with the No. 78 team and it would seem as though the team has a mutual interest in retaining him. Whether that mutual interest produces a deal or not is something that we will have to wait and see.

Next: See What Other Drivers Could Make Waves In Free Agency After The Season