Longtime racer Martin Truex Sr. dies at 66

Martin Truex Sr., a veteran racer in the former NASCAR Busch North Series whose sons became next-generation stars, has died. He was 66 years old.

The news was announced Friday in a statement from sons Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Truex and daughter Marsha McVey, stating: “We are devastated by the loss of our father (Martin Truex Sr.). Simply put, he was our hero and a great man. We appreciate everyone‘s thoughts and prayers and ask for privacy at this time.”

The elder Truex made 135 starts on the Busch North circuit, which has evolved into the current-day ARCA Menards Series East. He won once, prevailing in 1994 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in a preliminary event to the NASCAR Cup Series’ second-ever race weekend there.

“He was a gentleman racer, fun to race with,” said four-time Busch North champion Andy Santerre, in an interview last September. “I don’t remember all my races, but I do remember that Martin Sr. beat me at New Hampshire in, I think, ’94 and I finished second, and I was as happy for him as I was to finish second — and I don’t think I’d won a race at that point.”

Truex ran a wholesale seafood business, and the sponsors of his No. 56 entries were often familiar to that industry. He was a proven winner in modified competition in his home state of New Jersey and the northeast, but he dialed back his own driving duties in the late 1990s to accelerate the racing career of his oldest son, Martin Truex Jr.

“He’s at the age where hopefully he can make it all the way to the big leagues. That’s the plan at least,” Truex Sr. told the Atlantic City (N.J.) Press in 2000, noting his vision for his 19-year-old son. He said he viewed his decision as an investment rather than a sacrifice; Truex Jr. went on to become a Cup Series champion (2017), a two-time Xfinity Series champ and a 34-time Cup winner at the time of his retirement from full-time competition last season.

“He was a great racer himself,” former Busch North champion Mike Olsen said of Truex Sr. last September. “Definitely the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, and Martin Sr. did a great job in bringing Martin Jr. into the ranks.”

Martin Truex Sr.’s youngest son, Ryan, also reached NASCAR’s national-series level, scoring all three of his career victories in the Xfinity Series in the last two years.

Truex Sr. joined his sons last November for a family photo on the starting grid at Phoenix Raceway, where Martin Truex Jr. ran his final race as a full-time competitor. Truex will fly his father’s familiar car number — No. 56 — on his Tricon Garage-prepared Toyota in his attempt to make the Daytona 500 field next month.