Cole Pearn

Cole R. Pearn (born October 13, 1982) is a Canadian former NASCAR crew chief and stock car racing driver. He competed in CASCAR (now Pinty's Series) for three seasons from 2001 to 2003. He also was a 3 time Canadian Go-Kart Champion, Delaware Speedway Track Champion and winner of the Great Canadian 300 in 2006. He last served as the crew chief for Martin Truex Jr.'s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Pearn led Truex to the Cup championship in 2017.

Cole Pearn
Cole Pearn in 2018
BornCole R. Pearn
(1982-10-13) October 13, 1982
Mount Brydges, Ontario
Achievements2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief
2006 Great Canadian 300 race winner
NASCAR Pinty's Series career
27 races run over 4 years
Best finish14th (2003)
First race2000 CarQuest 300 (Delaware)
Last race2003 Molson Canadian CASCAR Championship Showdown (Cayuga)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 3 0

Pearn was considered NASCAR's best active crew chief during his career, having turned Furniture Row Racing from a backmarker to a championship contender.[1] Pearn was the crew chief responsible for 17 of the team's 18 race wins.[2]

Career

Pearn, a three-time national kart racing champion in Canada, competed in late models.[3] In 2000, Pearn debuted in the CASCAR Super Series at Delaware Speedway, finishing 18th.[4] Pearn competed full-time in 2002 and 2003, driving the No. 24 Pontiac and recording a best finish of sixth twice: in 2002 at Delaware[5] and 2003 at Race City Speedway.[6]

After graduating from college, Pearn worked for Toyota, and later moved to North Carolina. He joined Richard Childress Racing in 2007, working with Kevin Harvick's No. 29 crew as an engineer.[7] In 2010, he joined Furniture Row Racing as a team engineer, though he left for JTG Daugherty Racing in 2011.[8] Pearn returned to FRR during the 2012 season, becoming the team's lead race engineer. On December 3, 2014, Pearn was promoted to crew chief of the No. 78, replacing Todd Berrier,[3] who had departed the team to join Joe Gibbs Racing,[7] and Pearn became the first regular Canadian crew chief in Cup Series history.[9] In 2015, Pearn and driver Martin Truex Jr. won the Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400 at Pocono Raceway, and Pearn became the first Canadian crew chief to win a Cup race.[10] In 2016, Pearn was suspended for the Kobalt 400 after failing technical inspection at the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500; the team had also been penalized at the Daytona 500 the week before for roof flap problems.[11] During the 2017 season, Pearn and Truex won eight races en route to the series championship.[12] The following year, Pearn and Truex won 4 races during the year at Fontana, Pocono, Sonoma, and Kentucky. Rumors throughout the year swirled the Furniture Row team after sponsor 5 hour Energy left the team and eventually the team announced they were shutting down. Truex and Pearn made it to the final four again in 2018 and finished 2nd in the final standings in 2018.

In 2019, Pearn and Truex moved to Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 19 team following Furniture Row Racing's shutdown after the 2018 season.[13]

On December 9, 2019 Pearn announced that parted ways with JGR to pursue opportunities outside of NASCAR.[14] He remained involved in the sport as an analyst for NASCAR.com.[15]

In August 2020, Pearn joined IndyCar Series team Ed Carpenter Racing as the lead engineer for Conor Daly in the Indianapolis 500.[15]

Personal life

Pearn's father Ron was a stock car driver at Checker Flag Raceway in Windsor, Ontario.[9] In 2006, he graduated from the University of Waterloo with a mechanical engineering degree.[3][7]

Pearn is an ice hockey fan and a supporter of the Toronto Maple Leafs; he also plays forward in a Golden-based rec league.[9]

After leaving the crew chief ranks, Pearn moved to British Columbia.[16] He and his wife Carrie operate the lodging chain Golden Alpine Holidays.[15]

Motorsports career results

CASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

CASCAR Super Series
CASCAR Super Series results
Year Car owner No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 CSSC Pts Ref
2000 Cole Pearn 24 Chevy EDM CAL MSP DEL
18		 N/A 0 [17]
2001 DEL
17		 PET MSP MSP KWA TOR ASE CTR HAM CAL VAN DEL
27		 46th 360 [18]
2002 DEL
36		 20th 1540 [19]
Pontiac PET
18		 ASE
17		 MSP
22		 MSP
12		 HAM
19		 TOR
31		 CAL
31		 VAN
30		 MNT
11		 KWA
24		 DEL
6
2003 DEL
25		 PET
10		 MSP
21		 HAM
21		 TOR
21		 CAL
6		 VAN
11		 ASE
11		 MSP
12		 DEL
15		 PET
14		 HAM
28		 14th 1566 [20]

See also

References
  1. "Cole Pearn, Furniture Row Racing crew chief, overcomes grief of losing best friend". 3 September 2017.
  2. "Owner".
  3. "Furniture Row Racing names Cole Pearn as new crew chief". The Denver Post. December 3, 2014. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  4. "2000 CarQuest 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  5. "2002 Great Canadian 300". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  6. "2003 Mopar 500 Weekend". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  7. Groke, Nick (February 5, 2015). "Cole Pearn, new crew chief for Denver's Furniture Row Racing team, part of new wave". The Denver Post. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  8. Spencer, Lee (December 3, 2014). "Pearn takes over the reins at FRR". Motorsport.com. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  9. Duff, Bob (June 13, 2015). "Bob Duff: Canadian crew chief Cole Pearn races to top of NASCAR". The Windsor Star. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  10. McDonald, Norris (June 9, 2015). "Catching up with Cole Pearn – the first Canadian to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup race as crew chief". Toronto Star. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  11. Turner, Jared (March 2, 2016). "Martin Truex Jr. crew chief suspended, fined; team appealing". Foxsports.com. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  12. Spencer, Lee (November 19, 2017). "Martin Truex Jr. fends off Kyle Busch to win 2017 NASCAR Cup title". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  13. Pockrass, Bob (November 9, 2018). "Joe Gibbs Racing signs Martin Truex Jr., crew chief Cole Pearn for 2019". ESPN. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  14. "Crew chief Cole Pearn to step away from NASCAR". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  15. "Ed Carpenter Racing adds Cole Pearn to Indianapolis 500 engineering staff". Ed Carpenter Racing (Press release). July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  16. Smith, David; Cavanna, Alan (May 7, 2020). "Episode 60: Comprehending the New Reality". Podbean. Motorsports Analytics. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  17. "Cole Pearn – 2000 CASCAR Super Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  18. "Cole Pearn – 2001 CASCAR Super Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  19. "Cole Pearn – 2002 CASCAR Super Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  20. "Cole Pearn – 2003 CASCAR Super Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  • Cole Pearn crew chief statistics at Racing-Reference
  • Cole Pearn driver statistics at Racing-Reference
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