Martin Truex Jr. is safely removed from the noise of all things racing following his retirement from the NASCAR Cup Series in 2024. The veteran loves spending time outdoors, fishing, and hunting, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that’s what he delves into the most now. But what he is also doing is owning and operating an aviation company that he began back in 2019.
MTJ Aviation is an ARGUS Gold-certified Part 135 charter operator based in Mooresville, North Carolina. The roots of this organization go back to 2014, when Truex first purchased a Hawker 400XP to take him to races. He initially had another company manage the operations of this flight, but took matters into his own hands when he figured that he could be doing a better job.
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Once the Part 135 certification came, he expanded his fleet and began focusing on being a private chartered company that primarily catered to NASCAR drivers. He truly believes that there is a lot of upside in this industry and that MTJ Aviation could grow into something bigger. All had been well until the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world and caused a dip in momentum.
The corporate and leisure passengers whom he had hoped to pull in were no longer interested in travel. This prompted him to get into a new vertical: organ and surgical team transportation. This line of work had come at the suggestion of one of the pilots who flew for Truex, and it ended up being a highly profitable venture both from a financial and a goodwill standpoint.
“[Flying these organ missions] was a real blessing and it’s been a great experience,” he told AIN at the time. The company continues the operation to date and has five Beechcraft 400 XPs in its fleet now. Each has a range of 1,704 miles and a top speed of 505 miles per hour. The cabin volume of each craft sits at 368.3 cubic feet and can seat up to eight passengers comfortably.
MTJ Aviation’s core business is now transporting organs and medical teams, and over 50% of its revenue comes from this. Truex had also stated in 2020 that the vision is to expand the fleet to include 25 to 30 business jets in the short-term. That timeline might extend, but the goal remains steady and true.
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He’d added, “We don’t want to get away from why we started this and why it’s working for us now. Strategically growing it and being able to deliver the things that got us where we’re at, I think, is important to understand and keep in mind.”
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