Truex has undergone a career rebirth

Once a journeyman driver, Martin Truex Jr. enters the 2018 NASCAR season as the class — and envy — of the field.

He was a guest on the “Today” show, rooted on his beloved Philadelphia Eagles at the Super Bowl and had the honor of inducting a racing Hall of Famer last month. He did it all as NASCAR champ.

“It’s been a crazy, busy offseason,” Truex said.

The 37-year-old Truex reaped the rewards of a start-to-finish dominant season that saw him reel off eight victories, 26 top10 finishes and a victory at Homestead that clinched the crown.

Did someone say encore? “I feel like the last three seasons, we improved in every category every year,” Truex said. “Obviously after last year, it’s going to be tough to continue the trend. I think we’re gearing up to do that. I felt like last year we could have won more races.”

Yes, Truex enters Sunday’s Daytona 500 feeling like his best is still ahead in the No. 78 Toyota.

Truex has undergone a career rebirth that is rare in NASCAR history.

Truex won two races over 333 career starts from his debut with Dale Earnhardt Inc. in 2004 through a tumultuous tenure at Michael Waltrip Racing and a head-scratching first season at Furniture Row Racing where he led one lap — one! — all year. He never finished better than 11th in the standings until 2015, and yet has now finished in NASCAR’s version of the Final Four in two of the last three seasons.

Truex found professional peace far removed from NASCAR’s hub in Charlotte, North Carolina. Furniture Row Racing opened in 2005 in Denver on a shoestring budget and a part-time schedule that made the team a bit player among the sport’s powerhouses.

Truex and FRR had a shotgun marriage of sorts out of the wreckage of the MWR cheating scandal that crippled the operation and forced Truex out of a job. FRR and team owner Barney Visser scrambled to find a replacement for Kurt Busch, and what started as a bit of a blind date has morphed into long-term bliss.

Truex had a win in 2015 and reached the championship round. He won four times in 2016, setting the stage for his career year. He led a whopping 2,253 laps and posted an average finish of 6.8 in 2017 — better numbers than Jimmie Johnson posted in any of his seven championship seasons.