NASCAR Cup champion Truex uncertain about his Furniture Row future
NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr is uncertain about his future at Furniture Row Racing given the team's sponsorship difficulty
Furniture Row announced recently that it had lost sponsor 5-hour Energy for 2019.
The current season is the first in Furniture Row's existence when owner Barney Visser had not had to put his own money into running it.
Asked if he could put a percentage chance on him being at Furniture Row in 2019, Truex was uncertain.
"Honestly, I really don't know," said the reigning champion, who is in the final year of his current contract with the team.
"I think in another week or two I'll have a better answer for you.
"Right now, we need sponsorship and that's as simple as it gets.
"It's hard to say. Is there a 50% chance we get that in a couple of weeks or a 100% chance or 2%? I don't know.
"I can tell you that everything is based upon that."
The small Furniture Row team rose to prominence after signing 2004 champion Kurt Busch during 2012, then became a race-winner and title contender with Truex before grabbing last year's championship.
It briefly ran as a two-car team with Erik Jones alongside Truex last season, before returning to a single entry for 2018.
Truex is third in this year's championship at present, having won four races, and is part of a dominant trio with Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch.
The 38-year-old reigning champion said his preference was to stay at Furniture Row.
"I've been in this position before," said Truex.
"I've got a great team - Barney has done a lot for my career.
"It's something we all want to keep going and just need a little bit of time to let the dominoes fall into place and see if we can keep it going and if not, I have to figure it out from there."
Retiring Kasey Kahne turned down Stewart-Haas NASCAR team approach
Bristol NASCAR: Kurt Busch ends win drought in dramatic race
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
Saddled with uncompetitive Minardi machinery, Tarso Marques didn't manage to score points in his three partial seasons of Formula 1. But now the Brazilian has the chance to show what he can do in NASCAR, and explains the story of his comeback with new Cup Series entrant Team Stange
The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car
NASCAR’s new stock car generation is encouraging an influx of fresh blood into its top tier. But there are concerns that parts are in short supply as the entire paddock tries to build up stocks at the same time
How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style
After holding his nerve and hip-checking his team-mate on the run to the line, Austin Cindric made a perfect start to life as a full-timer in the NASCAR Cup Series by winning the Daytona 500. Here's how the Penske Ford man emerged first across the line in the first points-scoring race for the much-anticipated Next Generation cars
Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season
There are plenty of uncertainties ahead of the 2022 NASCAR Cup season as an all-new fleet of cars take to the track for the first time. Ahead of this weekend's Daytona 500, our experts explain what you need to know
How NASCAR had to learn a harsh lesson ahead of its Next Gen arrival
The NASCAR Cup kicks off with the Daytona 500 this weekend, but a major overhaul and a subsequent mountain of work has been required to be ready for the arrival of the Next Gen cars
How Larson took the long way round to NASCAR Cup glory
From villain to hero, Kyle Larson’s journey to the 2021 NASCAR Cup title comes straight from the Hollywood blockbuster scripts. While Larson had to reach his lifelong goal the hard way and go through a very public shaming after a ban for using a racial slur, his talents shone long before his name grabbed the headlines for both the right and the wrong reasons
How NASCAR is gearing up for its "biggest change" in 2022
It’s not just Formula 1 that’s set for upheaval in 2022, as the NASCAR Cup Series adopts its Next Gen cars that will cast any in-built advantages aside and require teams to adopt a totally new way of operating. Far more than just a change of machinery, the new cars amount to a shift in NASCAR's core philosophy
Why Bubba Wallace’s Talladega win is such a big moment for NASCAR
Bubba Wallace claimed his maiden NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega on Monday to become the first Black victor in the category since Wendell Scott in 1963. Both Wallace and Scott had faced obstacles and racism in their paths to their breakthrough wins, and NASCAR is trying to put it right with its range of diversity programmes