DENVER, CO - JUNE 08: Furniture Row Racing crew chief Cole Pearn (right) and general manager Joe Garone pose at the Furniture Row Racing shop on Monday, June 8, 2015. Team driver Martin Truex Jr. won the Axalta 400 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
Furniture Row Racing has always been something of a David among the Goliaths of NASCAR. Furniture Row is a one-car team, while most of the top Sprint Cup teams have three or four cars.
And with the Super Bowl almost here, the David vs. Goliath analogy is even more apt. Furniture Row is the only NASCAR team based in Denver, while 90 percent or more of the teams are based in the metro Charlotte area. So among the drivers, crewmen and race team personnel, the strong sentiment is to root for the Carolina Panthers to beat the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 on Sunday.
Naturally, the Furniture Row folks are bucking the prevailing tide and instead pulling hard for their Broncos.
"Denver is our town, the Broncos are our football team and the excitement level is peaking at our Furniture Row race shop for the big game," said team general manager Joe Garone. "When we qualified for our Super Bowl -- the Championship 4 at Homestead, John Elway (Broncos executive vice president/general manager) sent a tweet wishing us good luck. It's our turn to reciprocate.
"We love Charlotte, the racing hub of NASCAR, but for a few hours on Super Bowl Sunday, the NFL team from Charlotte will be our adversary," said Garone. "We won't divulge names, but along with the champion Cup driver there are some other rabid Broncos fans residing in the Charlotte area."
On Feb. 13, Furniture Row Racing and driver Martin Truex Jr. will compete in the opening race of Daytona Speedweeks -- the non-points Sprint Unlimited, which airs on FOX at 8 p.m. ET.
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