Truex, DEI honored at Busch awards banquet
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
December 10, 2005
02:10 PM EST (19:10 GMT)
ORLANDO, Fla. -- A short ride for Chance 2 Motorsports in the NASCAR Busch Series -- including only two full seasons -- came to a close Friday night with a second championship celebration.
Martin Truex Jr. was honored as the Busch Series' fifth back-to-back champion at its 24th annual awards banquet, held for the fourth consecutive year in the Tuscan Ballroom at the Portofino Bay Hotel on the grounds of Universal Studios Orlando, before a crowd of more than 500.
"This definitely doesn't get any easier, even if it is the second time," Truex said. "A lot of things have happened to me in the last two years. Joining a new team in a new series, learning to become a winner and learning to be a champion.
"When I look back it amazes me how all these things could happen to someone so quickly [but] it makes me realize how fortunate I am and how much I appreciate all the opportunities I've had throughout my life."
Next season the driver, crew chief Kevin Manion and Chance 2's personnel will fold into their parent organization, Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, where Truex will drive the No. 1 Chevrolet as a teammate to Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Chance 2 was formed, in large part, to give Earnhardt Jr. a taste of team ownership. Previously, driving for DEI he'd recorded back-to-back Busch Series championships in 1998-99 -- becoming the fifth driver to win multiple Busch titles.
Last year Earnhardt spoke to the banquet and shared the head table in his role as co-owner of the team with stepmother Teresa Earnhardt, but Friday night, with his left forearm in a cast after undergoing a minor surgical procedure earlier that day, he spent a low-key evening at a front-row table with some of his team members.
I found out he had a calcium deposit removed from his wrist.