NASCAR: Martin Truex Jr. to attempt 2025 Daytona 500 with Tricon Garage

Martin Truex Jr. has a team for his 2025 Daytona 500 attempt.

Tricon Garage will field the No. 56 car for Truex as the NASCAR Truck Series team will enter its first Cup Series race. Truex, 43, retired from full-time racing at the end of the 2024 Cup Series season but had said that he wanted to run the upcoming Daytona 500.

The car will be via an alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, the team Truex has driven for since the start of the 2019 season. JGR couldn’t field a car for Truex because it’s at NASCAR’s four-team limit. 23XI Racing had been rumored as a potential ride for Truex.

Instead, the team owned by former Cup Series driver David Gilliland will operate Truex’s entry. Truex will have Cole Pearn back as his crew chief as well. The two worked together at both Furniture Row Motorsports and JGR before Pearn retired from NASCAR. Pearn was Truex’s crew chief when Truex won the 2017 Cup Series title at FRM with eight wins and 26 top-10 finishes across the 36-race season.

Truex will be sponsored by longtime sponsor Bass Pro Shops. Bass Pro sponsored Truex at the start of his career at Dale Earnhardt, Inc., before also sponsoring him at JGR.

“It’s going to be a really cool deal to be able to work with Cole and have the number 56 again,” Truex Jr. said in a statement. “I really appreciate everyone at Bass Pro Shops, Tricon and Toyota helping put this together to go have some fun, and I can’t think of a better time to go win the thing for [Bass Pro founder] Johnny Morris.”

Truex finished 10th in 2024 as he went winless in his final full-time season. Truex scored 32 of his 34 career victories from 2015 through 2023 at Front Row and JGR. The No. 56 on Truex’s car this season is the same number Truex had at Michael Waltrip Racing from 2010 through 2013. Truex got the second victory of his career in 2013, but was soon out of a ride after his sponsor NAPA left MWR because of a race-manipulation scandal in the final race of the regular season. NAPA’s departure led to Truex joining FRM, where he was 24th in 2014 before finishing fourth in the standings in 2015.

Tricon’s entry is officially the 42nd car for 40 spots in the Daytona 500 after JR Motorsports announced Wednesday that it would field a car for Justin Allgaier. With 36 spots already guaranteed to chartered cars, Truex will need to qualify for the Daytona 500 via his qualifying speed or finishing position in the Duel qualifying races.