Martin Truex Jr. Showing He Means Business After a 2014 NASCAR Season to Forget

It's not an understatement to say that the last year-and-a-half has produced some of the most difficult times Martin Truex Jr. has ever gone through, both professionally and personally.

When NAPA pulled its sponsorship from Michael Waltrip Racing at the end of 2013, Truex was left without a ride before replacing Kurt Busch at Furniture Row Racing in 2014.

While he entered the season with high hopes for himself and his new team, Truex eventually suffered through the worst season in his Sprint Cup career.

He managed just one top-five and five top-10 finishes en route to a career-low overall finish of 24th place.

Off the track, Truex was with fiancee Sherry Pollex virtually every step of the way as she battled courageously against ovarian cancer.

He even contemplated taking a leave from racing to be with Pollex, but she insisted he stay behind the wheel.

Thankfully, things have started to turn around for Truex in 2015.

Or, as Jay Pennell of FoxSports.com put it:

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For as tough as 2014 was, the start to the 2015 season has been a 180-degree change. In the first three races of the 2014 season, Truex finished 43rd, 22nd and 14th. This season he already has one top five and three top 10s.

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While Pollex is still fighting cancer, her prognosis is positive.

And the prognosis for Truex’s career is also better.

With his runner-up finish in Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the New Jersey native is off to one of the best season starts of his Sprint Cup career.

Truex now has three consecutive top-10 finishes to start the season: eighth in the season-opening Daytona 500, sixth last week at Atlanta and second Sunday.

“I really can’t put it into words,” Truex told Fox Sports after the race. “I’m just proud of everyone. I’m obviously proud of Sherry and what she’s been through and everything I’ve learned from her to be a better person.”

As for his performance on the race track Sunday, Truex finished behind race winner and new Sprint Cup points leader Kevin Harvick. Truex also improved his own stead in the standings, now up to fourth, just 16 points behind Harvick.

That’s the highest any Furniture Row driver has ever ranked in the team’s 10-year history.

“It was just a solid weekend,” Truex said. “The guys are making good decisions, and we’re not having any terrible luck. We just have to keep doing what we’re doing and find a little bit more speed and we’ll be able to challenge guys.”

Truex has had more than his share of challenges over the last 16 months, but he continues to be resilient and has never given up on himself or his team.

That kind of thing might be difficult for some drivers to do. Not only is Furniture Row Racing a single-car team, it’s the only major Sprint Cup team not headquartered in the Charlotte, N.C. area. Rather, it’s located in Denver, Colo.

But joining an alliance with Richard Childress Racing last season, particularly being supplied with potent ECR Engines under the hood from the RCR camp, has helped Truex and FRR not feel alone, but part of a big and productive family.

In fact, five drivers with ECR engines occupied the top 13 spots in Sunday’s final results: Truex (second), Ryan Newman (third), AJ Allmendinger (sixth), Paul Menard (12th) and Brian Scott (13th).

Whereas smiles were few and far between in 2014, it seems everywhere Truex turns in 2015, a smile is soon to follow.

As Truex poignantly pointed out, “We’ll keep working, we’ll get better and hopefully this is a sign of things to come.”

If things continue the way they’ve started, particularly with the uphill climb in finishes and in the standings, a win could conceivably come as early as this coming Sunday in Phoenix.

And if that occurs, it couldn’t happen to a nicer or more deserving guy.

Follow me on Twitter @JerryBonkowski