Martin Truex, Jr: The Fast Lane

For NASCAR champion Martin Truex, Jr., time is everything. Whether he’s guiding a stock car around the racetrack, angling for a trophy fish on the lake or tracking a prized deer in the woods — the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion and Garmin ambassador rarely has time on his side. That’s why he relies on his G5000-equipped Beechjet to get him to the racetrack and back home in a hurry, to spend his precious time with family, friends and the hobbies he loves. We sat down with Martin to discuss all things racing, fishing and hunting, and how his G5000-equipped Beechjet gives him the ability and confidence to get from point A to point B fast.

Q: Why is the G5000-equipped Beechjet such an important tool for you, and how does it help you compete?

A: Because of the value of time. We spend so much time on the road, so much time traveling…it really just simplifies my life. It helps me gain a little more at-home time, and vacations here and there between races to help keep that mindset, that focus, and keep the batteries charged—so when you’re at the track you’re 100 percent committed all the time.

G5000 for Beechjet features three high resolution 12-inch dispays, two touchscreen controllers, and provides a weight savings of 200 pounds or more.

Q: How many days out of the year are you away from home, and how many trips per year do you use the Beechjet?

A: It’s quite a bit, I don’t know the exact number but I’m guessing it’s probably between 250-300 days a year, so we’re not home a lot. Some of that, obviously not all of that, is at the racetrack—38 weekends a year we’re at the racetrack. Usually 2, 3, 4-day weekends, so some of the stuff is vacation, some of it’s doing other things during the week with appearances and things we have to do for racing. We’re definitely not home a lot, and that’s one of the reasons having the Beechjet has been such a blessing, it just cuts that time as much as possible where you’re gone and try to get as much time at home as possible. 

Q: Is there a specific reason you chose the Beechjet over other aircraft?

A: For a couple years I would charter planes here and there. I flew on a few different models similar to the Beechjet, flew on a few Beechjets just like this one, and just felt like it was the one I was most comfortable in. I thought it fit what we were doing the best. Looking at the cost per hour to run it, things like that, it all just kind of came together and that’s what we ended up with. It’s been a great plane, and it’s really served our needs well. It’s economical yet fast, maintenance has been a real easy thing on it, so everything just kind of worked out and it’s the perfect plane for what we do and what I’m doing at this point in time.

Martin Truex, Jr. returning home from a top-5 finish at Martinsville.

Q: The G5000 offers things like enhanced safety, reliability plus a weight savings of some 200 lbs from the previous system, what does that mean to you?

A: That 200 lbs we saved with the G5000 means we can take on more fuel, we can fly farther, we can put more people on, more luggage, whatever. But I think for me it’s been more than that. It’s been more about the safety factor and my peace of mind sitting in the back…I’m a driver, so I’m a bad backseat driver. In the plane I’m always asking questions like—How much farther? How’s the weather look? How fast are we going?—all those things. For me it’s more peace of mind from the safety side that I don’t have to worry. It’s an unbelievable system that the pilots have so much confidence in, and for me, just being that it’s newer and it’s up-to-date, all those things are going on up there and I feel better sitting in the back, and I feel safer and I feel more relaxed about what we’re doing. All those reasons make it a great system for us.

Q: Do you ever ask your pilot to go faster? 

A: I always ask him to go faster [laughter]—‘Can we get there quicker? Can you straighten up the route?’

To learn more about our G5000 upgrade for Beechjet, visit garmin.com/aviation.

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