---
title: "NASCAR Team President Attributes Truex Jr. Sonoma Win to Crew Chief’s Head Injury"
description: "According to Furniture Row Racing President Joe Garone, Cole Pearn's race-winning call to get Martin Truex Jr. his Sonoma win was a result of a head injury."
date: "2018-06-27"
modified: "2018-06-27"
authors:
  - name: "Amanda Vincent"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/amanda-vincent"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/21796/nascar-team-president-attributes-truex-jr-sonoma-win-to-crew-chiefs-head-injury"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Cole Pearn"
  - "Joe Garone"
  - "Martin Truex Jr."
  - "Sonoma Raceway"
  - "Toyota/Save Mart 350"
---

# NASCAR Team President Attributes Truex Jr. Sonoma Win to Crew Chief’s Head Injury

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/06/356412.jpg>)
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Martin Truex Jr.’s crew chief Cole Pearn snookered his fellow competitors on pit strategy to get the [reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/21010/nascar-champ-martin-truex-jr-goes-to-washington>) to his third win of the 2018 seaon in the [Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/21735/martin-truex-jr-twist-and-turns-his-way-to-victory-at-sonoma-raceway>) on June 23. According to Furniture Row Racing President Joe Garone, his crew chief’s race-winning call came as a result of a blow to the head.

“He probably wouldn’t have made that call if he wouldn’t have been hit in the head,” Garone said in the post-race winning-team press conference.

Pearn used a fake-out to trick other frontrunners into making pit stops earlier than planned while keeping Truex on the track several laps longer. As a result, Truex had significantly newer tires when he finally pitted and was able to quickly overcome a large deficit, take the race lead, and pull away to the win.

“That’s all Cole; that’s all him,” Truex said. “That was amazing. I’m cool with whatever he wants to do. I tell him all the time, like, you know, win, lose or draw, we do it together, and I’ve just got a lot of trust in him. I don’t even say anything when he says pit or don’t pit. I just did what he wants to do, so awesome job by him today.”

According to Pearn, his blow to the head came in a treehouse construction project gone wrong when he and his wife attempted to reset a 4” x 4” corner post.

“I thought my wife had it and she didn’t, and I walked away to get a clamp and she yelled my name and I turned right into it and basically got KO’d by it,” Pearn said. “But yeah, it went right down to my skull, bled a lot, and had to get stitched on the inside, then on the outside. Was back in about an hour, and I worked until about nine o’clock Thursday night, and I finished the stupid thing, so I’m glad it’s done.”

The Sonoma win was [Truex](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/21284/martin-truex-jr-wins-the-nascar-cup-series-battle-at-pocono-raceway>)’s third of the season, trailing only five-time winner Kevin Harvick and four-race winner Kyle Busch in trips to victory lane. Truex is fifth in the championship points standings, 16 races into the season.

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