of the race—219 of the 400 laps. This victory led to a jump in overall points advancing him to 13th, followed by a third-place finish at Pocono Raceway and a second-place finish at Michigan. With a 15th-place finish in the Chevy Rock and Roll 400, Truex clinched a spot in his first Chase for the Sprint Cup and finished 11th in points at season's end. He did not go to victory lane in 2008, but he did have 11 Top 10's and finished 15th in the points standings. 2009: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing At the beginning of the 2009 season, Dale Earnhardt, Inc. merged into Chip Ganassi Racing and was renamed Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. The move was in effect a closing of DEI, and Truex's No. 1 moved to Ganassi to replace the defunct No. 41 of Reed Sorenson. Truex began the year by winning the pole for the Daytona 500. Later in the season, Truex had claimed two more pole positions at Atlanta and Phoenix, following his first pole since 2007 at Texas. 2009 would be Truex Jr.'s lone season with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, as he departed following the season and was replaced by Jamie McMurray. 2010–2013: Michael Waltrip Racing 2010–2011 After the 2009 season, Truex left Earnhardt Ganassi Racing to drive the No. 56 Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing, receiving owner points from the No. 55 car formerly driven by Waltrip. The No. 56 was the number Martin's father drove in during his time in the Grand National Division and is considered the "family number". In his first race for Michael Waltrip Racing, Truex finished sixth in the Daytona 500. After the series of setbacks the following three weeks with a blown engine and accidents, he fell back to 24th in the point standings, but in the next seven races after finishing in the Top 12 fives times and all Top 19 finishes, he would gain to 13th in the point standings. At Dover, he earned his fifth career pole. Truex won the All-Star Showdown at Charlotte thereby earning the 1st transfer spot for the All-Star Race which he finished second in from a 19th (out of 21) starting spot. Truex would go on to finish the 2010 season 22nd in the point standings with one Top 5 finish and seven Top 10 finishes. At Martinsville the following year in 2011, a stuck throttle caused Truex