Martin Truex Jr. breaks tie with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on wins list

With his first win of 2020, Martin Truex Jr. collected his 27th victory in the NASCAR Cup Series, passing two drivers on the all-time wins list, including former boss and competitor Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“That’s amazing, so proud of that,” Truex said of passing Dale Junior. “Dale, the last race I won, he texted me and said, ‘We’re tied for wins now.’ That’s really, really cool.”

Truex’s win in the Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway Wednesday (June 10) broke his tie with Dale Junior and Fred Lorenzon, who won his 26 races between 1961 and 1967.

Truex is now in sole possession of 30th all-time on the Cup Series wins list.

“To be able to score more wins than [Dale Jr.] is amazing and surprising. He’s the reason I got into big-time NASCAR racing. He’s the one that hired me to move south. Still a great friend. I owe him a ton. I’ll definitely have to mention that to him later on.

“Really, really cool to be able to win a lot of these races. It’s special for sure.”

The next five drivers ahead of Truex on the all-time wins list are Carl Edwards (28), Rex White (28), Kurt Busch (31), Dale Jarrett (32) and Brad Keselowski (32).