Truex Jr. loses his Crew Chief
The Canada-born Pearn cited spending more time with his family as the reason for his departure. Pearn spent five years as the crew chief for driver Martin Truex Jr., a pairing that was among the most successful in recent NASCAR history.
Pearn started with Colorado-based Furniture Row Racing in 2010 as a race engineer. He was promoted to crew chief in 2015, kicking off a tenure that netted 17 wins and the 2017 Cup Series championship for Barney Visser’s No. 78 group. He added seven more wins with Truex last season, their first with JGR’s No. 19 team.
Pearn’s dry sense of humor was one of his calling cards, as was his understated but often acerbic social-media presence. But the other trademarks were his savvy in the garage and a chemistry that clicked with Truex, who toasted his crew chief on social media Monday evening.
“I cannot say enough good things about Cole and what he has meant for my career," Truex said in a release provided by the team. “I appreciate his hard work and dedication to our race team over the past six years going back to when he was my engineer at Furniture Row. Our friendship is what matters most to me and I’m happy that he’s doing what’s best for him and his family."