Cole Pearn, the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series championship-winning crew chief, is reuniting with his former driver Martin Truex Jr. Pearn has been added to Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 road team for Sonoma Raceway. According to a report by Terrin Waack of NASCAR.com, Pearn is making a one-off appearance as a fill-in for team engineer Nick Burton, who will be away from the team as he attends a wedding.
Pearn served as Truex’s crew chief from 2015 at Furniture Row Racing to 2019 with Gibbs, and the two became one of the more prolific driver-crew chief combinations in recent NASCAR history together. Pearn helped guide Truex to 24 of his 31 career victories, four appearances in the Championship 4 of the playoffs, and the 2017 championship after a season where Truex posted a career-high eight wins. Pearn stepped down as crew chief following the 2019 season in order to pursue opportunities outside of NASCAR.
This is the second time in the past year that Pearn has filled in as needed on Truex’s team. Last fall, Pearn served as an additional spotter for Truex during a playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Sonoma presents an ideal track for Truex and Pearn to work together again, as they earned back-to-back wins at Sonoma in 2018 and 2019.
The temporary re-addition of Pearn to Truex’s team will be a sure boost to the Mayetta, New Jersey driver, as he is still looking to secure a spot in the NASCAR playoffs near midseason. While Truex currently sits fifth in points, he has yet to win a race this season and secure a spot on the playoff grid. After addressing retirement rumors prior to last week, Truex led 42 laps and finished sixth at Gateway.
