KUSA - The Furniture Row Racing NASCAR team, based in Colorado, celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2015.
The first race of the season for the team will be the Budweiser Shootout Feb. 14 in Daytona. The team hosted a Media Day at their race shop in north Denver on Thursday in preparation for the upcoming race.
Martin Truex, Junior, who is driving for Furniture Row Racing for a second year this year, has fire in his belly to win races this season. Part of his determination comes from what team owner Barney Visser told him when his girlfriend, Sherry Pollex, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last August.
"He said, 'You know, you need to be there for her. If you want to take off the next ten races, the car will be there for you next year,'" Truex said. "Just to have a car owner who's behind you like that, I'm gonna do everything I can to make it up to him this year, I guarantee that."
Pollex had her final chemotherapy treatment in January and Truex says she's doing well.
New for the team this year is the addition of associate sponsor, Visser Precision. The company manufactures products for industries ranging from aerospace and defense to luxury goods. Truex says the company even made a part for one of his remote controlled boats.
"I have a sick addiction of a hobby of radio controlled boats. I build them and race them. They built a part for me, a tune pipe for a 2-cycle engine that you can buy for $80 to $100. They 3D printed it and it probably cost about ten thousand dollars."
Team manager Joe Garone has been with Furniture Row Racing since the start.
"I didn't envision this in the beginning, but once I knew we were going to run cup, it's been purely 100 percent about winning races, making the chase and trying to win the championship", Garone said.
When asked about the seed that was planted ten years ago, Garone said this: "The tree's still growing. It's just slowed down a bit. There's a spurt of growth that you go through and it happens pretty quick. We're certainly not full grown yet, that's for sure".
Furniture Row Racing is the only NASCAR Sprint Cup team west of the Mississippi. They have a solid fan base in Colorado. When asked if Colorado fans were able to make it to just one race, Truex said they need to head east.
"Bristol (Tennessee) is probably the race of all races to see", Truex said.
The coliseum type atmosphere, it's a tight track, short track racing. There's a lot of beatin' and bangin' going on. The crowd's just wild so it's a lot of fun.
After the Budweiser Shootout on Valentine's Day, Furniture Row Racing will kick off the 2015 season with the Daytona 500, on February 22.
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