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Martin Truex Jr.

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Martin Truex Jr. is following a similar path as his more well-known teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

After back-to-back Busch Series championships, Truex began his first full year on the Cup tour in 2006 driving the No. 1 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. Truex won championships in his only two full years in the Busch Series.

In 1999, Earnhardt wrapped up the second of his consecutive Busch titles in his only two full-time seasons, then made the move to Cup full time in 2000.

Truex competed in seven Cup races in 2005, finishing a career-best seventh in May at Lowe's, his lone top-10 in nine career starts.

Truex dominated the Busch Series the past two years, compiling 12 victories, 32 top-fives and 48 top-10s. In 2004 he won seven Busch Poles and finished in the top 10 in 26 of 34 races.

Like Earnhardt, Truex comes from a racing background. Martin Truex is a former Busch Series driver and introduced his son to the sport.

Truex Jr. began racing go-karts in his native Northeast at the age of 11. By the time he was 14, Truex had won the Junior Class Championship and New Jersey Championship series at New Egypt Speedway.

Truex won his first Modifieds feature in just his eighth start at the age of 18. In 1999 he won the Wall Stadium Turkey Derby before making the move to the NASCAR Busch North Series.

Again, Truex won for the first time in that series in his eighth start in 2000, starting from the pole at New Hampshire International Speedway. He broke the track record by leading the race from start to finish.

Following a 2001 season in which Truex had two victories, nine top-fives and 11 top-10s in the North Series, in '02 he broke three track records and won a series-high six poles.

Truex made his Busch Series debut in 2001 driving for a family-owned team. In 2003, driving for Chance 2 Motorsports co-owners Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Teresa Earnhardt, he ended the season with back-to-back runner-up finishes and three top-10s in six starts.

In 2004 Truex became only the second driver to win the Busch Series championship in his rookie season.