DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Martin Truex Jr. returns to the Daytona 500 on Sunday to drive for Tricon Garage. He will use the No. 56, which holds special meaning.
"It probably hits home more with me of just what it means to us and our family," Truex said during Daytona 500 Media Day. "A lot of people are going to be excited to see it out there."
The 56 has obvious ties to Truex and Michael Waltrip Racing in the Cup Series, but the connection goes far deeper. This was the number his father used while driving in the Busch Series in the mid-1990s.
It was the number Martin Sr., who passed away in January, used while scoring his lone win in the Busch North Series. It was the number Truex used after his father stepped back from his racing career in the 1990s so that he could support his children.
"He was my hero growing up and still is," Truex added. "He made a lot of things happen for me.
"Taught me a lot of things with racing and really the opportunity to get here and what I've accomplished is all because of him and his sacrifices. Hopefully, we'll go win this thing for him on Sunday."
Truex took over the No. 56 in the Busch North Series starting in 2000, and he delivered success. He won five races in the entry between 2000-03, and he finished eighth in the standings in 2001.
Truex briefly used the No. 56 in the Xfinity Series before joining Chance 2 Motorsports, but he spent four seasons (2010-13) using the number in the Cup Series. He took it to victory lane at Sonoma Raceway.
Truex hasn't used the number in several seasons, but the opportunity arose once again after he retired from full-time racing. The 2017 Cup Series champion needed a new number for the one-off start considering that Chase Briscoe had taken over the No. 19.
Picking this number was easy.
"That was the first thing that I asked for, I think, when we put the deal together was, can I pick the number," Truex said.
"This was obviously the number I grew up racing with and it's special to me. It's fun to see it back out there in this series and especially here at Daytona."