Martin Truex Jr.

# Martin Truex Jr.

## Abstract

Martin Lee Truex Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion and a two-time Xfinity Series champion, having won two consecutive championships in 2004 and 2005.

Many members of Truex Jr.'s family are current or retired NASCAR drivers. His younger brother Ryan competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for JGR, and is a two-time consecutive champion in what is now known as the ARCA Menards Series East. His father Martin Sr. competed full-time in the East Series in the 1990s. His uncle Barney competed part-time in the Whelen Modified Tour in the 1980s. His cousins, Curtis Truex Jr. and Tyler Truex, are late model racing drivers.

## Early career

The son of racer Martin Truex Sr., Martin Jr. began his racing career driving go-karts at the New Egypt Speedway, located in Ocean County, New Jersey when it was still a paved track (the track was later switched to dirt). Truex Jr. would make his move to the Modified division at Wall Stadium in 1998, as soon as he was old enough to race a car at the age of 18 (under New Jersey regulations).

In 2000, Truex moved south and rented a home from Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Mooresville, North Carolina, eventually purchasing his own home there. Following in his father's footsteps, he began racing in the Busch North Series. He ran three full seasons (2000 to 2002) and made limited starts in 2003. Truex claimed 13 poles and 5 wins driving his family-owned No. 56 SeaWatch Chevy.

## NASCAR

### 2001–2005: Busch Series

Truex made his first Busch Series start in 2001 at Dover International Speedway in his father's No. 56 Chevy. He started 19th but finished 38th after an early wreck. In 2002, Truex drove one race for Phoenix Racing at New Hampshire International Speedway, starting 13th and finishing 29th. He ran three races the rest of that season for his father, his best finish 17th at Dover.

In 2003, he began the season with his father's team, before he was hired by Dale Earnhardt Jr. to drive his No. 81 Chance 2 Motorsports Chevy. He made his debut with Chance 2 at Richmond International Raceway, where he qualified sixth and led 11 laps before transmission failure forced him to a 31st-place finish. He split time between Chance 2 and his father's team for the balance of the season, except at Dover, where he drove for Stanton Barrett. He had a sixth-place run at Bristol Motor Speedway, and ended the season with two consecutive second-place finishes. He ran a total of ten races that season.

Truex raced full-time for Chance 2 in 2004. At Bristol Motor Speedway, he would earn his first career victory, and he would later add three more victories over the next seven races. This would include a victory at Talladega Superspeedway which broke his car owner's streak of winning restrictor plate races in the Busch Series, and a victory at the final NASCAR event held at Nazareth Speedway. He took the lead in the championship after Nazareth but lost it to rookie Kyle Busch a few races later. However, a series of top-five and top-ten finishes in the second half of the season allowed Truex to pull away from Busch, clinching the Busch Series championship with a race to spare.

While on his way to that championship, Truex made an appearance in the Nextel Cup Series as a relief driver to Dale Earnhardt Jr., who had suffered burns in a sports car accident. Truex started his first career Cup race for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) in the No. 1 at Atlanta Motor Speedway later that year, qualifying 33rd and finishing 37th.

Truex stayed in the Busch Series to defend his championship in 2005, winning the title for the second season in a row. He won the first Busch Series points race held outside the United States, in Mexico, as well as defending his wins at Talladega and Dover International Speedway. He took his first Daytona International Speedway win on July 1, 2005.

### 2006–2008: Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

In 2006, Truex moved to the No. 1 DEI Chevy full-time in the Nextel Cup Series. He had two Top 5 finishes and finished 19th in points. Truex got his first win of the 2007 season in the NASCAR Nextel All-Star Open, securing a spot in the 2007 Nextel All-Star Challenge, where he finished tenth.

A few weeks later, he won the Autism Speaks 400, scoring his first Sprint Cup Series win with an interval of seven seconds between pole-sitter Ryan Newman and himself, even though he led over half of the race—219 of the 400 laps.

This victory led to a jump in overall points advancing him to 13th, followed by a 3rd-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 final 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 6th 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 final 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 to make contact with Kasey Kahne, resulting in a large wreck; Truex hit the wall hard head-on and his car flew on fire for a few seconds as Kahne hit the wall in his car's rear. Truex climbed out instantly and went to check on Kahne who received a standing ovation as he climbed out uninjured. Truex then left with officials to the care center. He said the wreck was the hardest of his career and both Truex and Kahne were released with normal symptoms. The next week officials told him his wreck was the hardest crash at Martinsville. Truex won another pole at Dover International Raceway. Truex ran well in most of the races but often struggled to finish the races off. He was docked 25 points because of a windshield violation in the fall Talladega race. He ended the season 18th in points, with three Top 5's and 12 Top 10's.

#### 2012

Truex started 2012 well, winning a $200,000 bonus and finishing 7th in the Daytona 500. He finally hit his stride in Texas, winning the pole and leading 69 laps. The following week at Kansas he started 6th and flat-out dominated the race, leading 173 of 267 laps but falling short to Denny Hamlin. At Atlanta, he led 40 of the final 46 laps, but ultimately fell short to Hamlin again when he was forced to pit under a late-race caution for fuel, ending up fourth. Truex finished 21st, however, he had a spot clinched in the Chase, and ultimately made it in. He ended up 11th in the points, with zero wins, seven Top 5's, and 19 Top 10's.

#### 2013: Spingate incident

Truex had an up and down 2013 season. He had a few Top 5 finishes in the early races. His first best run of 2013 was Texas, when he led during the final 55 laps of the race but ended up losing to Kyle Busch. Truex also had low notes, including an accident at Martinsville and a blown engine at Dover. The highlight of the season was at Sonoma, when Truex broke a 218 race winless streak, starting 14th on the starting grid and working his way up to win by over eight seconds over Jeff Gordon. Truex's 218-race winless streak is second only to Bill Elliott, who went winless in 226 races between 1994 and 2001. It is only the second time a car numbered No. 56 won in NASCAR's highest division, the first being Jim Hurtubise in a 1966 Atlanta race.

Returning to Bristol, Truex was involved in a wreck on Lap 448 where his car hit an inside wall at an angle that he broke his right wrist; he continued racing despite wearing a cast on his right wrist. At Atlanta, despite nursing a broken wrist, Truex finished third to Kyle Busch and Joey Logano.

In the final regular-season race at Richmond, Truex was in the midst of a fierce battle for the final Wildcard spot, eventually coming out over Ryan Newman by a tiebreaker. As Newman and Truex each had one win, the Wildcard spot went to Truex, for having a better number of Top 5 finishes than Newman; however on Monday evening, it was announced that due to MWR having attempted to manipulate the results of the race, points penalties were assessed – 50 points for Truex, Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers each – that resulted in Truex being bumped from the Chase and Newman and Jeff Gordon being added to the Chase field, as well as probation for all three crew chiefs, suspension of Ty Norris, and a $300,000 fine. In the final 10 races of the season, Truex had four top-10 finishes, which included a top-five run at Homestead.

### 2014–2018: Furniture Row Racing

#### 2014

On October 14, 2013, it was announced that Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 56 would become a research and development team in 2014, and later was spun off. Truex was told he could offer his services as a driver to other teams, and on October 17 it was confirmed that for the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season Truex would move to Furniture Row Racing and drive the No. 78 Chevrolet being vacated by Kurt Busch. When the deal was formally announced on November 1, 2013, before the Texas race, it was announced that Furniture Row had also signed on all of the members of Truex's MWR pit crew.

Truex's 2014 season started with an outside pole qualifying run for the Daytona 500, Furniture Row Racing's first front row start in the 500. However, Truex's engine failed on lap 31.

Truex did poorly in the spring but rebounded with four top-10s in the latter part of the season. He only led a single lap (at Talladega in the October race) and finished 24th in the final points standings.

#### 2015: First Championship Four appearance

Before the 2015 season, crew chief Todd Berrier was released and replaced with rookie crew chief Cole Pearn.

Truex's season began on a high note. He led the most laps of the Sprint Unlimited (28 of 75). He led late but after a late-race red flag period erased his 5-second lead on Joey Logano, Truex lost his rhythm and finished second to Matt Kenseth. In a post-race interview, an emotional Truex said "We needed this. The race was over once Kenseth pulled away from me. But we needed this. After the last year and a half that I've had this satisfies a lot."

Truex continued his good momentum, finishing in the Top 10 in 14 of the first 15 races including a runner-up at Las Vegas. His only poor finish during this period was a 29th-place finish at Bristol, seven laps down, after being swept up in a late-race accident. At Kansas, Truex led the most laps (95), but a late caution killed his chances as he slipped back to 9th on the last restart, and he was unable to make up enough ground to catch Jimmie Johnson.

At the Coca-Cola 600, Truex led the most laps (131 of 400), but with 20 laps to go, he had to make a late-race fuel stop and finished 5th. At Dover, Truex led the most laps again (131 of 405), but a poor restart caused him to slide back to 7th and cost him the race to Johnson.

At Pocono, Truex started third, and ran up front for most of the race, leading 97 of 160 laps. On the last restart, he managed to pull away to a 1.8-second lead on Kevin Harvick to take the checkered flag in 1st place. For Truex, this snapped a 69 race winless streak and was also the fourth straight points race in which he led the most laps. It was the second win for Furniture Row Racing and the first for crew chief Cole Pearn.

With a third-place finish in a rain-shortened Michigan race, Truex became the first driver since Richard Petty in 1969 to start a Cup season with 14 Top 10 finishes through the first 15 races. At Sonoma, Truex was running in the Top 20 until shortly after the first restart, when David Ragan turned him in the esses, which saw Truex crash into a jersey barrier, resulting in a 42nd-place finish. At Daytona, Truex was running up front until he was caught up in a crash on lap 106, relegating him to a 38th-place finish. Despite a string of bad races, Truex nonetheless made the Chase for the Sprint Cup and advanced through the first 2 rounds of the Chase. He also advanced to the final four at Homestead-Miami and went on to finish 4th in the final point standings, a then-career best for both him and FRR.

#### 2016

Prior to the season, Furniture Row switched manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota. Bass Pro Shops signed on as an associate sponsor to the No. 78, reuniting with Truex for the first time since Truex's time with DEI. Truex started the 2016 season qualifying 28th for the Daytona 500 and ran up front for most of the day. On the last lap of the Daytona 500, he was positioned behind race leader Matt Kenseth. Heading into turn 3 Denny Hamlin got a big run on Kenseth and tried to pass him but Matt went up to block Hamlin but nearly wrecked in the process and ended up losing the draft leaving Truex as the leading car. After a ferocious race to the finish line, Truex lost by 0.010 seconds to Denny Hamlin in the closest Daytona 500 finish in history.

Truex dominated at Texas, leading 141 of 334 laps but lost after not making a pit stop with less than 39 laps to go. At Kansas in May, Truex won his first pole of the year and first pole in 147 races in Sprint Cup for the running of the Go Bowling 400. Truex led a race-high 172 laps but a loose wheel relegated him to a 14th-place finish. He won his second pole of the season for the Coca-Cola 600. On May 29—Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, 2016—Truex dominated, leading a record 392 of 400 laps in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, surpassing the old record of 335 laps set by Jim Paschal in 1967. The win was Truex's first of 2016, clinching a place in the Chase for the Sprint Cup at the end-of-season. He led the race for 588 miles, the most miles led by any driver in any NASCAR race ever.

On September 4, in the Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Truex won his second race of the year. With 20 laps to go Truex Jr. was on point with Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson chasing from behind. With 19 laps to go Harvick and Larson found themselves five seconds behind the leader when a caution came out for a hard wreck by Aric Almirola in the No. 43 machine. With 17 laps to go the field hit pit road for the final time with Truex Jr. winning the battle off pit road. The final restart came with 12 laps to go and immediately Harvick and Larson battled quickly before Harvick eventually took second and then set sail to catch Truex. Luckily For Truex, however, Harvick could not match the number 78 car and Truex would go on to win the Southern 500.

2016 became the first multi-win season of his career. Truex would advance to the next round of the Chase at Chicagoland. Truex led 32 of the final 50 laps and appeared set to finish second behind Chase Elliott. After a caution with 10 laps left erased Elliott's 3-second lead, Truex and Elliott pitted. Truex used the advantage of his fresh tires and got by rookie Ryan Blaney on the final restart, winning the race, his third win of the season. At New Hampshire, Truex had a great car all day and would lead the most laps but towards the end, his tires would wear, and a few late-race cautions came out so he would lose the lead, eventually, Kevin Harvick would win and Truex would finish 7th.

The next week, coming back to Dover, Truex would once again have a great car and would lead the most laps, and would get his fourth win of the season and seventh win of his career after the other dominant driver Jimmie Johnson had a pit road mistake and would be advanced into round 2 of the Chase after his Chicagoland win. He would eventually get eliminated in the Round of 12 after his engine blew up in the elimination race at Talladega and some poor performances in the Round of 12.

#### 2017: Championship year

Truex started the 2017 season off by winning the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This was Toyota's first win of the season with the new 2018 Camry and Truex's first career win at Las Vegas. He also became the first driver to win all three stages of the new stage format that was introduced for 2017.

At Kansas in May 2017, Truex started 4th. The race was primarily a duel between him and Ryan Blaney. Truex held off Blaney, Kevin Harvick, and a hard-charging Brad Keselowski on three restarts to win the race. At Charlotte, he led the most laps once again, becoming only the second man to lead the most laps in three straight Coca-Cola 600 races, yet only winning one. He tied Darrell Waltrip 's record. At Michigan, he won two more stage wins, becoming the first and fastest person to ever win 10 stage wins, where nobody else has won more than four, or any other team's combined stage wins. In July, Truex captured his third win of the season, dominating the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. He again won all three stages, leading 152 of 267 laps. With two laps to go, Truex had a 14-second lead before a late caution set up an overtime finish. Despite each of the other seven cars behind him pitting during the caution, Truex held off Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson on older tires before a wreck behind the lead pack brought out another yellow flag, this one ending the race.

Truex took home his fourth win of the season in August winning the I Love New York 355 at The Glen, capturing his first win at Watkins Glen International Speedway. After finishing 2nd in the first two segments of the race, Truex took the lead with 36 laps to go from Brad Keselowski but relinquished the top two spots to Keselowski and Ryan Blaney to save fuel. The strategy paid off, as Keselowski went to pit road with five laps remaining, while Blaney went one lap later, giving Truex the lead. He was able to make it to the finish, holding off Matt Kenseth as he was running out of fuel for his second career road course victory. It was an emotional win for the #78 team, as Pollex returned to victory lane with Truex after missing the Kentucky win due to a cancer recurrence, while his crew chief Cole Pearn helped earn the win while coping with the loss of his best friend, Jacob Damen.

Two races later at the 2017 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Truex had a chance to clinch the first regular-season title in NASCAR history if he left with a points lead of 120 points or greater. However, Truex struggled during the early stages of the race and finished 21st

Following an off-week, Truex raced in the Bojangles Southern 500 at Darlington with another chance to wrap up the regular season crown a week before the finale at Richmond. In stage one, Truex ran down Kyle Larson with under a lap to go to win his 16th stage of the year. The exciting finish earned him his 35th playoff point of the season. After being behind both Larson and Denny Hamlin early in the second stage, Truex was able to find the lead and took the stage victory under caution after an accident occurred with three laps to go. The stage win also clinched Truex the regular-season championship and the additional 15 playoff points that go with the title. Truex seemed to have optimal timing again near the finish, springing to the lead shortly after the final exchange of pit stops in the closing 102-lap run of green-flag racing. However, Denny Hamlin gradually chopped into the lead, setting up a potential classic contest for the lead. With three laps to go, Truex's tire gave way, allowing Hamlin to scoot by and grab his second win of the season. Despite this, Truex clinched the regular-season championship.

Before being awarded the regular-season championship at Richmond, Truex dominated the Federated Auto Parts 400 leading 50% of the race. However, his race derailed when Denny Hamlin wrecked him on the final restart. Truex, though clinching the regular-season championship, expressed discontent with the 1990 Daytona 500 champion, Derrike Cope who caused a caution that changed the outcome of the race, leading up to the wreck. The regular-season championship was Truex's first top-level championship in his Cup Series career.

Truex started the playoffs on a high note, winning the first race of the playoffs, and his fifth win of the season at Chicagoland Speedway despite a pit road speeding penalty early in the race. That win, allowed Truex to secure a spot for the Round of 12. He later earned himself a 5th-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, although being involved in an eight-car pileup with minor damage midway through the race.

To start the Round of 12, Truex scored his sixth win of the season at Charlotte after leading 91 out of 334 laps to secure a spot for the Round of 8. Just two weeks later, he scored another win at Kansas despite having a restart violation early in the race, that win extends his active win streak in 1.5-mile tracks to 4, a NASCAR record. The next week, Truex came second to Kevin Harvick in Texas Fall race, snapping the streak at the final 1.5. mile track race in the season. After the Texas Chase race, Truex made the final four in the playoffs by points. He ultimately won the final race at Miami, becoming the 2017 champion, and won 19 of 108 stages, capping off one of the most dominant seasons in recent history.

#### 2018: Final year at Furniture Row

Truex started off the season with an 18th-place finish at the 2018 Daytona 500, after being caught up in a late-race wreck. For the next few weeks, Truex picked up Top 5 finishes for the next five straight races, including two poles, and a win at California. He continued this consistency with wins at Pocono, Sonoma, and Kentucky and 15 Top 5's during the regular season. Truex added four Top 5 finishes during the Playoffs and made the Championship 4 for the second year in a row. He finished 2nd at Homestead to Joey Logano and in the final points standings.

On September 4, 2018, it was announced that Furniture Row Racing will be folding the No. 78 team following the conclusion of the 2018 season. On November 7, 2018, with Furniture Row Racing closing at the end of 2018, it was announced Truex and crew chief Cole Pearn signed a deal with Joe Gibbs Racing to drive the No. 19 starting in the 2019 season, replacing Daniel Suárez and crew chief Dave Rogers.

### 2019–2024: Joe Gibbs Racing

#### 2019

Truex started his first season with JGR with a 35th-place finish at the 2019 Daytona 500, but he made up for that loss with five straight Top 10s and two Top 20s before scoring four wins at Richmond (his first Cup win on a short track), Dover, Charlotte, and Sonoma. He began the 2019 playoffs by winning the first two races at Las Vegas and Richmond (his first back-to-back career victories and season "sweep" at Richmond) and advancing to the Round of 12 after finishing seventh at the Charlotte Roval. During the Round of 8, Truex won at Martinsville to secure his position in the Championship 4. At the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Truex dominated the first half of the race, winning the first stage and leading into green flag pit stops at the midpoint of stage 2. However, the race and championship hope unraveled due to a miscue during the pit stop, in which the left and right front tires were switched around, and installed to the incorrect sides. The pit road error forced an unscheduled stop and rendered Truex a lap down for much of the second stage. He recovered and began to rally back through the field, but could not overcome the loss of track position, ultimately finishing 2nd in the race to teammate Kyle Busch and the final championship standings for the second season in a row. Truex led the series in victories with seven. Truex was also the first driver to lead the series in wins after switching to a new team since Matt Kenseth in 2013, who also did it with Joe Gibbs Racing.

On December 9, after serving as Truex's crew chief for six seasons, Pearn announced he has parted ways with JGR to pursue opportunities outside the sport.

#### 2020

At Martinsville in June, Truex controlled the final 100 laps and won his only race of the season after early-race damage to the front of his car prevented the right-front tire and brake pads from overheating. Truex dominated the final laps of the race at Kentucky but was the victim of a last-lap pass by Cole Custer, the second time in three years that Truex was passed on the final lap by a driver in their first career win. Truex missed the Championship 4 for the first time since 2016 and finished 7th in points.

#### 2021

Despite only scoring one win in their first season paired together, Truex remained with crew chief James Small, even amidst a crew chief shakeup at JGR that year. He won his first race of the season at Phoenix in March, which was his first victory at the track.

In March, Truex made his return to both the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series. He drove JGR's No. 54 at Atlanta in March for his first Xfinity start since 2010 when he drove multiple races for MWR in their No. 00 and No. 99 cars. Truex drove in the Truck Series' Bristol dirt race in the No. 51 for Kyle Busch Motorsports in preparation for the Cup Series race on the same track, new to the schedule, that weekend. It was his first Truck start since 2006, coincidentally also in the No. 51, but he ran for Billy Ballew Motorsports in 2006. He won the race for his first truck series win, becoming the 36th driver to win in all three top NASCAR Series. Despite leading the most laps (122) at the Cup event, Truex would finish 19th after a cut tire with two laps to go while running in 3rd.

Two weeks later, Truex won at Martinsville for the third time in his career, his sixth win on a short track, and became the first driver to win multiple races in 2021.

On May 9, Truex dominated and won the Goodyear 400 at Darlington, earning his 30th career victory, and his second at the famed track.

At New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Truex was running second when the rain hit the track causing Truex, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin to crash. He soon rebounded to finish 12th in the same race, which was shortened due to darkness.

During the rest of the season, he would continue to perform to the best of his ability for the next three races after that, earning a 3rd-place finish at Watkins Glen International. Truex was involved in a wreck at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course late in the race, but managed to finish 15th. He also scored a Top 10 at Michigan International Speedway.

Truex was involved in the big one at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, resulting in a 29th-place finish. When the Playoffs started, he scored one win at Richmond Raceway, a Top 5 at Darlington Raceway, and a Top 10 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

In the second round of the playoffs, he would finish 4th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 12th at Talladega Superspeedway, and 29th at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.

In the final round of the playoffs at Texas Motor Speedway, Truex got loose in turns 3 and 4, snapping the car around and causing him to slam into the outside wall. He would be scored 25th as a result of said crash. However, he would gather enough points and positions in the next two races at Kansas Speedway and Martinsville Speedway, finishing 7th and 4th respectively, giving him just enough points to advance into the Championship 4.

In the Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, Truex would be in 1st-place for a small portion of the end of the race, looking to secure a second title. With just under 30 laps to go, the caution came out because of David Starr putting debris on the racetrack after cutting a tire. Truex tried his best to overtake the top contender, Kyle Larson, as the laps kept winding down, but ultimately finished 2nd in points after coming up just short of winning. This was the third time in Truex's NASCAR Cup Series career that he has finished 2nd in points.

#### 2022: Championship 4 to missing the playoffs

Truex started the 2022 season with a 13th-place finish at the 2022 Daytona 500. He was winless through the regular season, but he stayed consistent with three Top 5's and 12 Top 10 finishes. In June, Truex expressed uncertainty about his future in the NASCAR Cup Series with him debating over if he would retire or stay with JGR. He would ultimately choose to stay with JGR and run the 2023 season. Despite leading the season in stage wins (7) and being fourth in the regular season standings at the conclusion of the August Daytona race, Truex missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014 after finishing eighth, three points behind Ryan Blaney for the 16th and final playoff spot as Austin Dillon won the race to become the 16th different race winner of the season. Truex went winless and finished 17th in the final standings.

#### 2023: Return to form

Truex began the 2023 season by winning the 2023 Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum. He broke a 54-race winless streak at Dover to make the playoffs. Truex also scored wins at Sonoma and New Hampshire. At the conclusion of the Daytona night race, he clinched the regular season championship. On the second playoff race at Kansas, Truex experienced a puncture on his right rear tire and crashed on the third lap, finishing in last place and dropping him below the cutoff line. However, the following week at Bristol, he was able to salvage a bad night and finish 19th two laps down, going above the cutoff line by five points after Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick had issues late in the race.

#### 2024: Final full-time season

On August 5, 2023, Truex announced that he had signed a contract extension to remain with JGR through the 2024 season. On June 14, 2024, Truex announced he would retire from full-time racing at the end of the season. Despite not winning a race during the regular season, he stayed consistent enough to make the playoffs.

## Personal life

Truex was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and grew up in the Mayetta section of Stafford Township, New Jersey. He graduated from Southern Regional High School in 1998. His father, Martin Truex Sr., was a former race winner in the Busch North Series. His younger brother, Ryan, is a former champion in the K&N Pro Series East, and was a contender for 2014 Rookie of the Year in Sprint Cup.

Truex and his ex-girlfriend Sherry Pollex were together from 2005–2023. In 2007, they started the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation to support children with pediatric cancer. In 2014, Pollex was diagnosed with Stage III ovarian cancer. Truex announced that he and Pollex had ended their relationship on January 27, 2023. They continued to remain close friends post-breakup up until Pollex's death on September 17, 2023.

Truex is an avid fan of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League and the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League.

In 2019, Truex's holding company, which holds a small aircraft fleet, entered the human organ transport business.

## Motorsports career results

### NASCAR

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

#### Cup Series

#### Camping World Truck Series

Season still in progress Ineligible for series points

### International Race of Champions

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)


CCDC47

# CCDC47

## Abstract

Coiled-coil domain 47 (CCDC47) is a gene located on human chromosome 17, specifically locus 17q23.3 which encodes for the protein PAT complex subunit CCDC47. The protein itself contains coiled-coil domains, the SEEEED superfamily, a domain of unknown function (DUF1682) and a transmembrane domain. The function of the protein is unknown, but it has been proposed that CCDC47 is involved in calcium ion homeostasis and the endoplasmic reticulum overload response.

## Gene

The CCDC47 gene itself is located on the minus strand of human chromosome 17 and contains 13 exon splice sites and 14 distinct introns. After removal of exons, the gene is 3445 base pairs in length. No evidence for micro RNA or pseudogenes has been found. The gene does not have various isoforms, only transcript variant 1X exists.

## Protein

### Structure

The protein encoded by CCDC47 is 483 amino acids in length and contains both a signal peptide and transmembrane domain. It is rich in negatively charged amino acids such as aspartic acid and glutamic acid giving it an acidic isoelectric point of 4.56. The protein is also rich in methionine. In total, it weighs 55.9 kDal which is conserved through various orthologs. CCDC47 also contains the SEEEED superfamily and domain of unknown function 1682 (DUF1682). The SEEEED superfamily is a short, low complexity region which is composed mainly of serine. The family routinely lies on the clathrin adaptor complex 3 beta-1 subunit proteins. The exact function of DUF 1682 is unclear but one member of the family has been described as an adipocyte-specific protein.

There are two predicted disulfide bonds in the structure of CCDC47 at cysteines 209 to 214 and cysteines 215 to 283, respectively. The C-terminal portion of the protein is highly charged and its secondary structure is predicted to be that of an alpha helix region. This region also contains coiled coil domains which are structural motifs in which 2-7 alpha helices are coiled together and are subsequently involved in biological expression. These domains typically follow the pattern HxxHCxC where H is a hydrophobic amino acid, C is a charged amino acid and x is any amino acid. Many amino acid sequences following this pattern are seen in the C-terminal region of CCDC47 where the highest conservation through orthologs is represented.

### Regulation and translation

CCDC47 is regulated by the promoter GXP43413. The promoter is 819 base pairs in length and is highly conserved in mammals. Conserved binding sites in mammals which are located on this promoter include nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF1), cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), PAR bZIP family and Sp4 Transcription Factor. NRF1 encodes a protein which homodimerizes and activates expression of key metabolic genes. CREB binds to cAMP response elements thereby increasing or decreasing the transcription of downstream genes while PAR bZIP family is involved in the regulation of circadian rhythms. In regards to the mRNA, translation begins at base pair 337 and ends at 1728. There is a strong stem loop located in the 5' UTR region from bases 289-318 which likely is involved in regulation of the mRNA due to its close proximity to the start codon.

### Cellular distribution

The final protein is thought to be translated from the endoplasmic reticulum into the cytoplasm of the cell. The protein is anchored in the membrane of the ER at the transmembrane domain located from amino acid 137 to 165. The portion of the protein which extends into the cytosol is predicted to be highly phosphorylated as the protein's phosphorylation sites are conserved into the bony fish orthologs. Research has shown that CCDC47 is expressed in the response to an ER overload making this close proximity to the ER important.

### Post translational modification

In addition to the high levels of phosphorylation seen in CCDC47, three sulfation sites are predicted and conserved in mammals, reptiles and birds but not in fish, amphibians or invertebrates. Five potential sumoylation sites are also seen and conserved back to the bony fish. There is no glycosylation of the protein as it is not predicted to extend into the extracellular portion of the cell.

## Expression

Microarray tissue expression patterns from GEO were analyzed and showed that CCDC47 appears to be an ubiquitously expressed at moderate levels in many different human tissues. Although the protein is ubiquitously expressed, the highest levels of expression are seen in neuronal tissues such as the superior cervical ganglion, brain amygdala and ciliary ganglion. Elevated expression is also seen in the thyroid and CD34+ cells.

## Homology

CCDC47 has no known paralogs through text based queries, BLAST and BLAT. The gene has many orthologs extending back to invertebrates such as C. elegans and is highly conserved in mammals with a percent identity greater than 95%. CCDC47 has been sequenced in a wide taxonomy of organisms including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, bony fish and invertebrates. Percent identity of human CCDC47 to a specific ortholog declines with increasing years of divergence, as expected. Homologous genes of CCDC47 are also present in mosquitos, mushrooms, arabidopsis and Asian rice. These homologs contain the same DUF1682 which is found in CCDC47.


Thirty Minutes over Tokyo

# Thirty Minutes over Tokyo

## Abstract

" Thirty Minutes over Tokyo " is the twenty-third and final episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on May 16, 1999. In the episode, after being robbed by Snake Jailbird, the Simpsons visit a money-saving seminar, where they learn ways to limit their expenses. Soon, the family can afford a cheap last-minute flight to another country, the only disadvantage being that they do not know where their plane tickets will bring them, which leads them to spend their vacation in Japan.

The episode was written by Donick Cary and Dan Greaney, while Jim Reardon served as director. It was one of the last episodes written in its production line, and its title is a reference to the war film Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. Several guest-stars appeared in the episode, including George Takei as the host for The Happy Smile Super Challenge Family Wish Show. This episode parodies aspects of Japanese culture, including the cruelty of Japanese game shows.

The episode was seen by approximately 8 million viewers in its original broadcast. In 2005, the episode was first released on home video, and in 2007, it was released as part of the tenth season DVD box set.

Following the tenth season's home video release, "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo" received mixed reviews from critics. Because of a scene in which the Emperor of Japan is thrown into a trunk filled with sumo thongs, the episode has never aired in Japan, as the scene was considered disrespectful. Likewise, the episode is unavailable for streaming on Disney+ in Japan.

## Plot

While visiting an Internet café with Bart and Lisa, Homer is cyber-robbed by Snake, who downloads the savings that the family planned to use for a vacation. Homer attempts to save money by burgling Ned Flanders, who catches him and explains that he learned thrifting strategies from attending the Chuck Garabedian Mega-Savings Seminar. Homer steals Ned's tickets for the next seminar, where he and Marge learn they can afford a family vacation by buying unclaimed airline tickets for a discount price.

The family wait at the airport for a cancellation and claim tickets from the Flanders for Tokyo. Arriving in Japan, with Lisa wanting to explore the local culture, the family eat at an American-themed restaurant before Homer and Bart attend a sumo match. When his pretzel is stolen by a wrestler, Homer subdues him (with the help of Bart) before throwing Emperor Akihito into a receptacle of worn mawashi. He and Bart are put in jail and bailed out by Marge, leaving the family with a single million yen note. To cheer up a disappointed Lisa, Homer makes the note into an origami crane, which subsequently blows away in the wind.

Needing to earn the money to return home, the family work in a fish-gutting factory in Osaka, where they happen upon a TV game show called The Happy Smile Super Challenge Family Wish Show, where winners are given a prize of their choice. They go on the show and are subject to humiliating challenges at the behest of the host Wink in order to win plane tickets to Springfield. Their final challenge has them collect the tickets from a rickety bridge over an active volcano, which they succeed at but fall into the lava, which turns out to be Orangeade with added wasabi. The Simpsons finally leave Japan, though their flight out is briefly halted by four giant monsters – Godzilla, Mothra, Gamera, and Rodan.

## Production

The episode, which was originally titled "Fat Man and Little Boy" (which went on to be used for the name of a season 16 episode), was directed by Jim Reardon and written by Donick Cary and Dan Greaney. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on May 16, 1999. "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo" was one of the last episodes produced for the series' tenth season. Staff writers Cary and Greaney wrote the draft in a couple of days, and it was then rewritten "extensively" with The Simpsons ' writing staff. Originally, there would be a long scene about how Homer had bought a "pre-Columbian vase" on the Internet, however the scene was ultimately cut from the episode. The episode's title is a reference to the 1944 war film 30 Seconds Over Tokyo. Originally, the staff wanted the title to be "Twenty-two Minutes over Tokyo", since an episode of The Simpsons is approximately twenty-two minutes long, but they eventually changed it to its current rendition because it “sounds closer to” the title of the film it references. According to Cary, the writers did a lot of research in order to accurately depict the Japanese language for the episode. For example, the three categories in The Happy Smile Super Challenge Family Wish Show are written in Japanese.

In the scene at the seminar, a character closely resembling the mascot of Hasbro 's Monopoly can be seen sitting next to Mr. Burns. Because the design is slightly different from the real-life mascot, the Simpsons staff did not have to pay Hasbro for using their character in the episode. The design of Homer in a Jamaican attire was very popular among the staff, and Mike Scully, the showrunner for the episode, called the design "great". A scene in the episode shows Homer buying a square watermelon, which turns out to be round and slips out of his hands. In the background, cars are driving on the left side of the street. Originally, the animators had drawn the cars driving on the right side. However, Tomi Yamaguchi, a Simpsons layout artist at the time, pointed out that cars in fact drive on the left side of the street in Japan. Because of this, the animators had to redraw the whole scene, and Yamaguchi received a technical advisor credit for the episode. The speech that Homer gives to the audience in The Happy Smile Super Challenge Family Wish Show was originally much longer, and would partially involve kitchenettes from Broyhill. The design of the male Canadian in the game show was based on Canadian Simpsons director Neil Affleck.

The anime version of The Simpsons ' theme song that plays at the end of the episode was conceived by composer Alf Clausen. Chuck Garabedian, the speaker at the seminar, was portrayed by series regular voice actor Hank Azaria, who plays Moe Szyslak among other characters. The Japanese waiter in Americatown was played by American actor Gedde Watanabe. Wink, the host for The Happy Smile Super Challenge Family Wish Show, was portrayed by George Takei. Takei has appeared on The Simpsons several times before, and he is, according to Scully, one of the staff's favorite guest-stars. The episode also features the voices of Tress MacNeille, Denice Kumagai as Japanese mother, Karen Maruyama as Japanese stewardess, Keone Young as the sumo wrestler, and Karl Wiedergott as both Mr. Monopoly and Woody Allen.

## Themes and cultural references

In his book Gilligan Unbound, American literary critic Paul Cantor described how "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo" references and mocks several aspects of Japanese and American culture, as well as differences between the two. The Hello Kitty factory from Sanrio is featured. At a sumo wrestling match, Bart and Homer encounter the then current Japanese emperor, Akihito. After Homer throws him into a trunk of sumo thongs, Bart and Homer are put in jail, where they have to re-enact a kabuki play about the forty-seven Ronin, do origami, flower arranging and meditation. After Marge bails them out, Bart and Homer can speak fluent Japanese, and have fully absorbed, as Cantor writes, the "exclusionary" character of the Japanese culture, as Homer asks Bart (in Japanese, with English subtitles): "Should we tell them the secret to inner peace?", to which Bart replies (still in Japanese), "No, they are foreign devils." The episode also references the Japanese's adaption to American culture, and is, according to Cantor, "filled" with signs of how eagerly Japanese have taken to American culture. In one scene, the Simpsons eat at a restaurant called Americatown, filled with US memorabilia and having only American items on the menu. Another scene shows director Woody Allen filming a commercial for Japanese television.

In order to get back to the United States, the Simpsons have to enter a humiliating game show called The Happy Smile Super Challenge Family Wish Show. According to Cantor, this is where the family finds a difference between Japanese and American culture, as Wink, the game-show host, explains to them: "Our game shows are a little different from yours. Your shows reward knowledge. We punish ignorance." Japanese game shows have indeed been greatly focused on using the format of physical challenges, with injuries even being reported by contestants. These game shows have also been known for using comedy as a way to distract people from paying too much attention to the cruelty of the physical challenges. As with many other episodes in the series, "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo" suggests that, in the end, the Simpsons are more attached to the local than to the global, and, as Cantor writes: "indeed the global is ultimately important in the series only insofar as it can be made local, that is, part of Springfield. For all its cosmopolitanism, the show keeps returning to the American theme of 'there's no place like home ' ".

The computers seen in the internet café that the Simpsons visit in the beginning of the episode are based on the Apple iMac computers. In a scene inside Flanders' kitchen, a note which reads "1 COR 6:9–11" can be seen. This refers to the Bible, 1 Corinthians, chapter 6, verses 9 to 11: "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves nor the greedy, nor drunkards nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." The cups in the 33 cent store read That '70s Show, a reference to which Danny Masterson, one of the lead actors in That '70s Show, was entertained by, according to Scully. Battling Seizure Robots, the seizure-inducing television show that the Simpsons watch in their hotel room, is based on an episode of Pokémon, called " Dennō Senshi Porygon ", which caused 685 children to develop epileptic seizures. According to Scully, the staff received "several angry letters" from people for the scene. After the cartoon, an advertisement for Mr. Sparkle, a character that first appeared in the season 8 episode " In Marge We Trust ", can be seen on the television screen. Barney, while impersonating Homer, says "That boy ain't right", a line frequently used by Hank Hill, the main character of the animated television series King of the Hill. The giant monsters attacking at the end of the episode are Godzilla, Gamera, Rodan, and Mothra, all of which are famous from Japanese monster movies. The scene was included as a reference to the 1998 action science fiction film Godzilla, in which three of the main The Simpsons cast members (Azaria, Cartwright and Shearer) had a live-action role. In the Mexican dub of the episode, whilst The Simpsons family works through the fish-gutting factory, when witnessing the factory's jingle (and before flipping through TV stations with a well-placed eel) Homer directly references Dragonball Z

## Release and reception

In its original American broadcast on May 16, 1999, "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo" received an 8.0 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research, translating to approximately 8 million viewers. On May 23, 2005, the episode was released along with the season 12 episode " Simpson Safari ", the season 13 episode " Blame It on Lisa " and the season 15 episode " The Regina Monologues ", as part of a DVD set called The Simpsons – Around The World In 80 D'Oh's. On August 7, 2007, the episode was again released as part of The Simpsons – The Complete Tenth Season DVD box set. Matt Groening, Mike Scully, Donick Cary, George Meyer, Ron Hauge, Matt Selman and Jim Reardon participated in the DVD's audio commentary of the episode.

The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, gave the episode a positive review, and wrote that it was "A magnificent end to the season." They wrote that the episode was "thoroughly racist" but "completely inoffensive because it's simply very funny."

Jake MacNeill of Digital Entertainment News was also favorable, considering it to be one of the better episodes of the season.

James Plath of DVD Town wrote that the episode has "some funny moments."

Aaron Roxby of Collider was more critical, denouncing the episode's dated references. He wrote: "I am going to go ahead and give this one the benefit of the doubt and assume that making fun of Japanese junk culture and game shows felt fresher in 1999 than it does do now."

Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide called the episode "mediocre". He wrote that, though the episode's concept should "open up lots of interesting possibilities", it "doesn't explore them particularly well". While he did not consider it to be a bad episode, he thought it "fail to live up to its potential".

## Censorship

"Thirty Minutes over Tokyo" is one of two episodes that never aired in Japan, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan (the other being season 11 episode " Little Big Mom "). The reasoning behind this was that a scene in the episode, which shows Homer throwing Akihito, the then emperor of Japan, into a box filled with sumo thongs, was considered disrespectful. There was also a rumor that Sanrio and Hello Kitty creator Yuko Shimizu was outraged by the inclusion of the Hello Kitty factory featured briefly in the episode. The episode has become study material for sociology courses at University of California, Berkeley, where it is used to "examine issues of the production and reception of cultural objects, in this case, a satirical cartoon show", and to figure out what it is "trying to tell audiences about aspects primarily of American society, and, to a lesser extent, about other societies".

This episode was also originally banned in South Korea due to its policy on restricting Japanese culture on television at the time, following Japan's past colonization of Korea (1910–1945). The ban for the episode in South Korea was lifted sometime before 2007, when it was available to Koreans for the first time on the Season 10 DVD boxset. However, the episode remains banned in Japan.


Potosi, Missouri

# Potosi, Missouri

## Abstract

Potosi is a city in Washington County, Missouri, United States. Potosi is seventy-two miles southwest of St. Louis. The population was 2,538 as of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Washington County.

Located in the Lead Belt, the city was founded in 1763 by French colonists as Mine à Breton or Mine au Breton. After the United States acquired this area, American Moses Austin renamed the community for the Bolivian silver-mining city of Potosí. He was involved in lead mining.

## Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.33 square miles (6.03 km), all land.

Potosi is located in the Lead Belt region of Missouri; as such, it has mining operations in the area. It is also geographically considered part of the St. Francois Mountain Range, meaning it has hilly terrain typical of the region.

The city is within proximity to many nature areas, including Mark Twain National Forest and Washington State Park.

### Climate

## History

A lead mining settlement at this spot, "Mine à Breton" or Mine au Breton, was founded between 1760 and 1780 by Francis Azor, of Brittany, France. Moses Austin came here in 1798 with his family, including his son Stephen F. Austin. Moses obtained a grant of 7,153 arpents of land from the Spanish Empire and started large-scale mining operations, building his town to support it. Moses named the town after Potosí in Bolivia, which was famous for its vast silver mines. Austin's tomb and the foundation of his home Durham Hall can still be seen. Another mining entrepreneur in Potosi at the time of Moses Austin was James Bryan. Firmin Rene Desloge, who emigrated from Nantes, France in 1822 as the progenitor of the Desloge Family in America, located in Potosi and established a mercantile, distillery, fur trading and lead smelting business. The Desloge lead mining business Desloge Lead Company and later Desloge Consolidated Lead Company was later relocated to Bonne Terre, MO and also Desloge, MO by his son Firmin V. Desloge.

Potosi was designated county seat in 1814.

Potosi is also home to the oldest standing Presbyterian church west of the Mississippi River. It is located on West Breton Street, also home to the graveyard that contains the tomb of Moses Austin and his wife Maria Brown Austin.

The Potosi Correctional Center, which opened in 1989, housed Missouri's death row and the state's executions were handled at the prison until 2005. The Potosi Center conducted all but one of the 62 Missouri executions between 1989 when capital punishment was reinstated and 2005 when executions were moved 25 miles east to the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri.

The George Cresswell Furnace, Palmer Historic Mining District, Washington County Courthouse, and Washington State Park CCC Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

## Demographics

### 2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,660 people, 1,114 households, and 657 families living in the city. The population density was 1,141.6 inhabitants per square mile (440.8/km). There were 1,230 housing units at an average density of 527.9 per square mile (203.8/km). The racial makeup of the city was 95.2% White, 2.2% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.6% of the population.

There were 1,114 households, of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.0% were married couples living together, 17.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.0% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.86.

The median age in the city was 39.1 years. 24.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.9% were from 25 to 44; 24.3% were from 45 to 64; and 18.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 44.1% male and 55.9% female.

### 2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,662 people, 1,103 households, and 677 families living in the city. The population density was 1,218.9 inhabitants per square mile (470.6/km). There were 1,211 housing units at an average density of 554.5 per square mile (214.1/km). The racial makeup of the city was 95.60% White, 2.14% African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.23% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.83% of the population.

There were 1,103 households, out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 35.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 81.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $17,702, and the median income for a family was $23,958. Males had a median income of $31,548 versus $16,976 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,417. About 28.1% of families and 31.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.7% of those under age 18 and 13.9% of those age 65 or over.

## Government and infrastructure

Potosi is the county seat of Washington County, therefore hosts both city and county government offices. Namely, City Hall and The Washington County Courthouse and government offices within.

The United States Postal Service operates the Potosi Post Office.

The Potosi Correctional Center of the Missouri Department of Corrections is located in an unincorporated area in Washington County, near Potosi. The prison houses male death row inmates.

## Education

Public education in Potosi is administered by the Potosi R-III School District. Potosi has a public library, the Washington County Library.

## Notable people

- Moses Austin, American settlement colonizer in St. Genevieve, Missouri and father of Stephen Austin of the Republic of Texas

- Jeremy Boyer, NHL & MLB organist

- Dylan Coleman, MLB pitcher

- Firmin Rene Desloge, progenitor of the Desloge Family in America

- Firmin V. Desloge, founder Desloge Consolidated Lead Company and Desloge, Missouri and Bonne Terre, Missouri

- Tom Huck, artist/printmaker

- John A. Lankford, architect

- Donne Wall, baseball player


Temple Beth-El (Great Neck, New York)

# Temple Beth-El (Great Neck, New York)

## Abstract

Temple Beth-El is a Reform Jewish synagogue located at 5 Old Mill Road in the village of Great Neck, Long Island, Nassau County, New York, in the United States. Founded in 1928, it is the oldest synagogue in Great Neck.

As of 2009, it had a membership of 875 families. Since 2023, the senior rabbi is A. Brian Stoller. Their cantor is Adam Davis. Their cantor emerita is Lisa Hest, the mother of singer-songwriter Ari Hest.

## History

The temple was founded in 1928 when 86 organizing members began meeting at local church. Rabbi David Goodis served as the congregation's first rabbi, but was in that role only briefly before he died in 1930. His successor, Rabbi Jacob Phillip Rudin, served for four decades establishing the temple as one of the most prominent synagogues in the United States.

The temple erected its original building on Old Mill Road in 1932. The temple began an adult study program that later became a Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion extension program. The building expanded in 1950, and again in 1970. Rabbi Rudin retired in 1971; Rabbi Jerome Davidson, who had been assistant rabbi since 1958, took over and served as senior rabbi until 2007. Rabbi Davidson's son, Rabbi Joshua Davidson, born in the Great Neck congregation, went on to lead Congregation Emanu-El of New York.

Some members of the congregation left in 1940 to form a Conservative synagogue, Temple Israel of Great Neck, which was led for many years by the prominent rabbi Mordecai Waxman. A Reform spinoff, Temple Emanuel of Great Neck, formed in 1953.

The original Temple building was enlarged three times during the past 60 years. It went through drastic renovation due to a fire that damaged some of the property. Since the fire, Temple Beth-El has continued to go through renovations.

In 1994 the congregation hired Karen Bender, a lesbian, as an assistant rabbi. When she and her life partner decided to celebrate a commitment ceremony in California, Davidson agreed to officiate at a blessing ceremony at Temple Beth-el. Controversy within the congregation over this decision led to Davidson's well-publicized decision not only to continue to officiate for gay unions, but also to begin officiating at interfaith weddings and to push for the Reform rabbinate to pursue means of Jewish support for mixed marriages.

Temple Beth-El of Great Neck has a rich cantorial tradition. Cantors who have served at the temple include: John P. Hardt, Robert Harmon, Robert Bloch, and Barbara Ostfeld, the first woman to be ordained a cantor. Additionally, Temple Beth-El of Great Neck's Early Childhood Education Center is award winning and led by Karen Wasserman.

## Notable members

- Sol Atlas (1907–1973), real estate developer

- Oscar Brand (1920–2016) American-Canadian singer

- Joshua Davidson, a rabbi who led Congregation Emanu-El of New York

- Erica Groshen (1954–) Former Commissioner of Labor Statistics and head of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics

- Sidney Jacobson (1918–2005), American businessman

- Andy Kaufman (1949–1984) Comedian and actor

- Alfred J. Koeppel (1932–2001), real estate developer


Marcus Morris Sr.

# Marcus Morris Sr.

## Abstract

Marcus Thomas Morris Sr. (born September 2, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The forward played college basketball at Kansas before being drafted 14th overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2011 NBA draft. He has also played for the Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

## Early life

Morris was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Thomasine "Angel" Morris. He has four brothers, Donte, Blake, David and twin Markieff, who also plays in the NBA.

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Morris was listed as the No. 10 power forward and the No. 29 player in the nation in 2008.

## College career

Morris attended the University of Kansas, where he majored in American studies. Morris was named the 2010–11 Big 12 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year. He also was named a second team All-American for his play in the 2010–11 basketball season by both the Associated Press and the National Association of Basketball Coaches, and a third team All-America by Fox Sports. On March 30, 2011, Morris was named to the ten-member John R. Wooden Award Men's All American team. Morris and his brother signed with a sports agent from Los Angeles, and announced that they would enter the 2011 NBA draft.

## Professional career

### Houston Rockets (2011–2013)

Morris was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 14th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft, five minutes after his brother Markieff was taken with the 13th pick by the Phoenix Suns. Morris was assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League on January 2, 2012. In his first game in the D-League on January 6, 2012, he recorded 33 points and 16 rebounds in a narrow 105–103 loss to the Dakota Wizards. Morris returned to the Rockets on January 16, was reassigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on February 3, and returned to the Rockets again on February 20.

After an injury to Patrick Patterson, Rockets head coach Kevin McHale named Morris the opening day starter at power forward for the 2012–13 season. When told he would be starting, Morris thought McHale was kidding, since he rarely played his rookie season and was hurt during the preseason. During the course of the season, Morris was the backup power forward to Patterson, and started 17 games while Patterson was injured. His three-point shot was much improved from his rookie season, more than tripling the percentage from 12% to 38%.

### Phoenix Suns (2013–2015)

On February 21, 2013, Morris was traded to the Phoenix Suns, reuniting him with his brother Markieff. The next day, Morris played his first game with his brother in the last six minutes of a loss to the Boston Celtics, as he recorded seven points, two steals, and a rebound, despite having no formal training from the Suns before entering the game. This marked the second time that twin brothers played for the same NBA team; Dick and Tom Van Arsdale also played together for the Suns during the 1976–77 season. On March 1, 2013, Morris scored 16 points to help the Suns defeat the Atlanta Hawks 92–87. He made four out of five three-point attempts. Morris went on to start alongside Markieff on March 9, 2013, against his former team, the Rockets, which made the Morris twins the first set of twins to ever start for the same NBA team.

On September 29, 2014, Morris signed a multi-year contract extension with the Suns. In the Suns' 2014–15 season opener on October 29, 2014, he recorded 21 points in the 119–99 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. On January 7 game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Morris received a technical foul and was caught on national TV berating head coach Jeff Hornacek about the situation. It resulted in Morris not playing for the rest of the game. His other antics during his final season with the Suns and afterwards, though, led to AZCentral.com labeling him one of Arizona's biggest sports villains.

On February 6, 2015, Morris recorded his first career double-double with career highs of 34 points and 12 rebounds in a 100–93 victory over the Utah Jazz. Morris' double-double off the bench marked him as just the second player after Brook Lopez in 2014–15 to record a 30-point, 10-rebound game off the bench. The last Suns player to do it was Danny Manning in 1997. On March 22 against the Dallas Mavericks, the Morris twins had double-doubles in the same game for the first time in their professional careers.

### Detroit Pistons (2015–2017)

On July 9, 2015, Morris was traded to the Detroit Pistons, along with Reggie Bullock and Danny Granger, in exchange for a 2020 second-round draft pick. He made his debut for the Pistons on October 27, 2015, in the team's season-opener against the Atlanta Hawks. In 37 minutes of action as a starter, Morris recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 106–94 victory. On April 1, 2016, he scored a season-high 31 points in a 98–89 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The Pistons finished the regular season as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 44–38 record, earning a playoff berth for the first time since 2009. In their first-round series against the top-seeded eventual champion Cleveland Cavaliers, the Pistons were swept 4–0.

On February 3, 2017, Morris scored a career-high 36 points in a 116–108 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. On February 28, he set a new career high with 37 points in a 120–113 overtime victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

### Boston Celtics (2017–2019)

On July 7, 2017, Morris was traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Avery Bradley and a 2019 second-round draft pick. On March 31, 2018, he scored 25 points in a 110–99 victory over the Toronto Raptors. It was Morris' fourth straight game with at least 20 points, setting a career high.

### New York Knicks (2019–2020)

On July 16, 2019, Morris signed with the New York Knicks. On January 5, 2020, Morris scored a career-high 38 points and tied his career high for field goals made (13) in a 135–132 loss against the Los Angeles Clippers.

### Los Angeles Clippers (2020–2023)

On February 6, 2020, the Knicks traded Morris to the Los Angeles Clippers in a three-team trade with the Washington Wizards, sending Maurice Harkless to New York and Jerome Robinson to Washington; the Clippers also acquired Isaiah Thomas from the Wizards in the trade.

Morris debuted for the Clippers on February 9, 2020, scoring 10 points in a 133–92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the first round of the 2020 NBA playoffs, he was ejected during Game 6 after committing a flagrant foul on Luka Dončić and was fined $35,000, but was never suspended. In the 2020 Western Conference Semifinals, Morris notably had an altercation with Paul Millsap as the Clippers fell in seven games after the Nuggets came back from a 3–1 series deficit. Morris averaged 11.8 points and 4.8 rebounds during the playoffs.

On November 25, 2020, Morris re-signed with the Clippers on a 4-year, $64 million contract.

### Philadelphia 76ers (2023–2024)

On November 1, 2023, the Philadelphia 76ers acquired Morris, Nicolas Batum, Kenyon Martin Jr. and Robert Covington from the Clippers in exchange for James Harden, P. J. Tucker, and Filip Petrušev. As part of the trade, the Clippers dealt a first-round pick, two second-round picks, a pick swap, and cash considerations to the 76ers, while sending a pick swap and cash considerations to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

On February 8, 2024, Morris was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in a three-team deal involving the Indiana Pacers. However, he did not play any games for the Spurs, and was waived on February 29.

### Cleveland Cavaliers (2024)

On March 18, 2024, Morris signed a 10-day contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and on March 29, he signed for the rest of the season.

### Second stint in New York (2024 — Present)

On September 15, the Knicks announced Morris had re-joined the team on an Exhibit 9 Contract.

## Career statistics

### NBA

## Personal life

Morris is seven minutes younger than his identical twin brother, Markieff. He is a fan of his hometown Philadelphia Eagles while Markieff roots for the rival Dallas Cowboys. His nicknames are "Mook" and "Flask Dad". Morris' girlfriend Amber Soulds gave birth to a son, Marcus Jr., on July 20, 2018. Beginning with the 2018–19 season, Morris donned "Morris Sr." on the back of his gameday jersey.

The Morris brothers and former teammates Goran and Zoran Dragić all briefly played for the Suns during the fourth quarter of the team's January 2, 2015 112–96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. It marked the first time in the NBA's history that two pairs of brothers were on the court for the same team at the same time.

On February 26, 2012, the state of Kansas filed battery charges against Morris and another assailant, Julius K. Harris, for punching an employee of the Cave, a bar and nightclub in Lawrence, Kansas in which they had been watching the final Border War basketball match between Kansas and Missouri. Morris and Harris entered a diversion agreement for the battery charge, with Morris paying a $300 diversion fee, $60 in court fees, and agreeing not to come in contact with the victim or The Cave for one year.

On January 24, 2015, Marcus and Markieff Morris were involved in two aggravated assault cases as five different men (including the twins and former Baltimore Ravens safety Gerald Bowman) allegedly assaulted 36-year-old Eric Hood outside the Nina Mason Pulliam Recreation Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Hood mentored the Morris twins from high school until the end of their college careers; the brothers assaulted Hood for "sending an inappropriate text message" to their mother. The case against the Morris brothers was first brought on August 3, 2015; the trial concluded on October 3, 2017, with the twins and Gerald Bowman found not guilty and the accused Julius Kane and Christopher Melendez Jr. confessing their guilt in September 2017. In spite of the resolution the incident was considered a catalyst for the Suns trading Marcus to the Pistons on July 9, 2015 and a factor in dealing his brother to the Washington Wizards on February 18, 2016.

On January 11, 2024, Morris was awarded the key to the City of Philadelphia for his contributions on and off the court. The Morris twins helped create the Family Over Everything Foundation, an organization that assists members of under-served communities in Philadelphia and other cities.


Thuwaini bin Shihab Al Said

# Thuwaini bin Shihab Al Said

## Abstract

Sayyid Thuwaini bin Shihab Al Said was an Omani senior member of the royal family and one of the Deputy Prime Ministers.

Thuwaini was born in 1924. He was educated in Baghdad and in Bahrain. He worked in the office of Sultan Said bin Taimur from 1948 to 1955. He worked in the office of his father Sayyid Shihab bin Faisal, Governor of Muscat, from 1956 to 1970. He succeeded him as the Governor of Muscat in 1970. He held the position of the governor until 1984.

In October 1970 Thuwaini was appointed as a personal advisor to the Sultan Qaboos. He was one of the Deputy Prime Ministers at least since 1984. Since 1985 he was the personal representative of the Sultan.

Thuwaini was a son of Shihab bin Faisal Al Said, who was a son of Sultan Faisal bin Turki. He was Sultan Qaboos ' cousin, and was one of the most likely candidate to succeed him as Sultan. However, he died in 26 June 2010.


Peter Stuyvesant Monument

# Peter Stuyvesant Monument

## Abstract

The Peter Stuyvesant Monument is a memorial to Peter Stuyvesant and the establishment of settlement of Bergen, New Netherlands in 1660. It is located at Journal Square district of Jersey City, New Jersey. The statue of Stuyvesant by J. Massey Rhind was originally installed in 1913 at Bergen Square. The statue and pedestal were unceremoniously removed in 2010. In 2014, the statue was restored and placed at nearby park in anticipation that a new pedestal would be built at the original location.

## Significance

Bergen Square and surrounding streets are the site of what is considered to be the oldest chartered municipality in the state of New Jersey, which at the time was part of the province of New Netherland. While the area had been settled as early as the 1630s, first charter was granted by the Director-General of New Netherland, Petrus Stuyvesant in 1660 as Bergen. In 1683, became it became Bergen Township.

## Original dedication

A statue of Stuyvesant by J. Massey Rhind was situated on Bergen Square to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the establishment of Bergen. The square had originally been surveyed and designed by Jacques Cortelyou.

## Removal and restoration

In the winter of 2010, the monument's base and inscribed tablets were demolished. The bronze statue of Stuyvesant was hauled to a local stone yard.

Efforts to restore the statue began almost immediately. It was rededicated in a new park at Hudson County Community College in 2014.


Ji-Xin Cheng

# Ji-Xin Cheng

## Abstract

Ji-Xin Cheng is an academic, inventor, and entrepreneur. He holds the Moustakas Chair Professorship in Optoelectronics and Photonics at Boston University. His inventions span optical imaging, cancer diagnosis, neuromodulation, and phototherapy of infectious diseases. He holds positions of co-founder of Vibronic and of Pulsethera. He is also the scientific advisor of Photothermal Spectroscopy and Axorus.

Cheng is most known for his development of chemical imaging techniques, focusing on molecular spectroscopic imaging in technology development, life science applications, and clinical translation. His work has been recognized by the 2019 Ellis R. Lippincott Award from Optica, the 2020 Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Award from the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh, and the 2024 SPIE Biophotonics Technology Innovator Award from International Society for Optics and Photonics.

Cheng is a Fellow of Optica (the Optical Society of America) and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

## Education

Cheng obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1994. Later, he obtained a PhD in 1998 from the same institution. After completing his PhD, Cheng had one-year postdoc training at the University of Science and Technology of Hong Kong (1999). From 2000 to 2003, he joined Sunney Xie's lab at Harvard University as a postdoc, where he and others worked on the development of coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy.

## Career

In 2003, he joined Purdue University as assistant professor in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Chemistry. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2009 and to professor in 2013. In 2017, he was recruited to Boston University as the inaugural Moustakas Chair Professor in Optoelectronics and Photonics in the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Biomedical Engineering.

Since 2021, he has served as the Director of the Boston University Photonics Center Graduate Student Initiative.

Cheng has co-founded companies, including Vibronix, in 2014, and Pulsethera, in 2019. He holds the position of scientific advisor at Photothermal Spectroscopy Corp. in Santa Barbara, California, and at Axorus in Paris.

## Research

Cheng has authored 300+ peer-reviewed publications spanning the areas of coherent Raman microscopy, mid-infrared photothermal microscopy, transient absorption microscopy, electromagnetic and ultrasound waves for neutral modulation, phototherapy of infectious diseases, as well as medical applications of nanomaterials.

### Coherent Raman scattering microscopy

Cheng's research has focused on coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy across various aspects such as instrumentation, theory, and practical applications. His research introduced concepts like CARS microscope using picosecond excitation, epi-detected CARS, and polarization-sensitive CARS. In 2002, he created a Green's function model that elucidates the contrast mechanism in CARS microscopy. Additionally, he led the development of laser-scanning CARS integrated into a confocal microscope. At Purdue University, his group led the development of multimodal nonlinear optical imaging using a CARS microscope.

From 2013 onward, Cheng and his research team devised methods that allow for the rapid acquisition of Raman spectra at microsecond time scale per pixel, facilitating vibrational spectroscopic imaging of live organisms. One notable achievement includes the creation of a tuned amplifier array, which enabled the development of the speediest Raman spectroscopic imaging system, capable of capturing a Raman spectrum in just 5 microseconds. His team further developed frameworks for transforming hyperspectral data into chemical maps of prominent substances. Through vibrational spectroscopic imaging on human patient samples, Cheng and his collaborators identified cholesteryl ester as a pervasive metabolic indicator of highly malignant cancers.

### Overtone photoacoustic microscopy

In 2011, Cheng and coworkers introduced overtone photoacoustic microscopy, which combined optical excitation of overtone vibration and acoustic detection of pressure transients to enable label-free bond-selective imaging of deep tissues. In collaboration with Professor Michael Sturek at the Indiana University School of Medicine, his team developed intravascular vibration-based photoacoustic catheters that can perform video rate imaging of lipids in an arterial wall. In 2014, he co-founded Vibronix aiming to further develop vibrational imaging technologies into commercial microscopes and medical devices. In 2020, Vibronix received FDA approval for their first medical device, AcuSee, for ultrasound image-guided surgical removal of kidney stones.

### Mid-infrared photothermal (MIP) microscopy

In 2016, his team introduced a mid-infrared photothermal (MIP) imaging technique that overcame the limitations of traditional infrared spectroscopic imaging, achieving micromolar detection sensitivity and submicrometer spatial resolution for three-dimensional chemical imaging of live cells and organisms. Concentrating on optical photothermal IR imaging, his research group have made contributions to technology advancement through a series of innovations. These innovations encompass widefield MIP, optical phase detection, and fluorescence detection. His recent invention, single pulse digitization, has facilitated real-time super-resolution infrared chemical imaging of living organisms at video rate. In 2024, his group reported in Nature Methods a mid-infrared photothermal reporter for imaging enzymatic activities in live cells.

In 2017, Photothermal Spectroscopy, with Cheng as a Scientific Advisor, announced mIRage, a commercial microscope for mid-infrared photothermal imaging.

### Transient absorption microscopy

In addition to his research on bond-selective chemical imaging, Cheng also made advancements in the field of high-resolution and high-speed transient absorption (TA) microscopy. In 2013, his team pioneered far-field super-resolution transient absorption imaging, breaking the conventional diffraction limit by achieving a spatial resolution of 200 nm through controlled electronic absorption saturation. On the applications of TA spectroscopic imaging, his team was the first to use phase-sensitive TA imaging to distinguish metallic from semiconducting carbon nanotubes. They also tracked single-walled carbon nanotubes in living cells using this method. In 2019, they developed a technique combining TA spectroscopic imaging and phasor analysis to quantify HbA1c levels within individual red blood cells. His group also unveiled a metabolic shift in melanoma from pigment-rich to lipid-rich as it progresses from primary to metastatic stages, potentially advancing the detection and treatment of this aggressive skin cancer.

### Neuromodulation with electromagnetic and ultrasound waves

Beyond Chemical Imaging, Cheng's research revolves around developing a set of tools designed to control cellular activity using electromagnetic or ultrasound waves. His group created a fiber optoacoustic emitter that transforms laser pulses into an extremely focused ultrasound field at the tip of the fiber, enabling precise stimulation of neurons at submillimeter accuracy and single-cell stimulation using a tapered fiber setup. His team further expanded on their work to create a non-invasive brain modulation technique using optically generated focused ultrasound with extremely precise spatial targeting. Additionally, he and coworkers created a microwave split ring resonator to generate gap-based ultrasound. This device enables precise neural activity inhibition beyond the microwave's diffraction limit.

### Phototherapy of infectious diseases

Under a lab-built transient absorption microscope, Cheng and his student Pu-Ting Dong accidentally found fast photobleaching of staphyloxanthin, a chromophore in methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). He converted this failed imaging experiment into a therapy for the super-bug MRSA by synergizing the pigment photobleaching with hydrogen peroxide and conventional antibiotics. Cheng, along with his coworkers, further discovered that certain wavelengths of light can deactivate natural light-absorbing molecules in a broad spectrum of bacteria and fungi, enabling the development of a therapy that sensitizes drug-resistant infections to low levels of hydrogen peroxide.

### Nanomedicine

In his early career, Cheng explored medical applications of nanomaterials including gold nanorods and polymer micelles. His 2005 paper in PNAS indicates that gold nanorods, when excited at 830 nm, exhibit strong two-photon luminescence with polarization dependence, plasmon-enhanced absorption, and higher signal intensity than traditional fluorescent probes, making them promising candidates for in vivo imaging applications.

In 2007, Cheng and collaborators investigated the photothermal effects of gold nanorods on tumor cells and established that plasmon-resonant gold nanorods, with carefully modified surface chemistry, have the potential for use in image-guided therapies based on localized hyperthermia at low laser fluences. His 2009 work highlighted the versatility of gold nanorods in the biomedical field, emphasizing their unique optical properties, surface chemistry control, and potential for both imaging and therapeutic applications, particularly in the context of cancer treatment. In 2010, his team described in Nature Nanotechnology a membrane repair property of block co-polymer micelles and showed its effectiveness in repairing traumatic spinal cord injury.

## Selected awards and honors

- 2005 – Seed of Success, Purdue University

- 2010 – Translational Research Award, Wallace H. Coulter Foundation

- 2011 – Early Career Research Award, Purdue University College of Engineering

- 2015 – Craver Award, Coblentz Society

- 2016 – Purdue University Cancer Center Research Excellence Award

- 2016 – Research Award, Purdue University College of Engineering

- 2018 – Translational research award, International Society for Optics and Photonics

- 2019 – Ellis R. Lippincott Award from OSA, Society for Applied Spectroscopy

- 2020 – Microscopy Today Innovation Award, Microscopy Today

- 2020 – Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Award, the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh

- 2022 – Boston University Innovator of the Year, Boston University

- 2024 – SPIE Biophotonics Technology Innovator Award, International Society for Optics and Photonics

- 2024 – Charles Delisi Award, Boston University College of Engineering


Mayor of New Britain, Connecticut

# Mayor of New Britain, Connecticut

## Abstract

The mayor of New Britain, Connecticut, is the city's chief executive.

## List of city's chief executives


Take It Easy with the Walker Brothers

# Take It Easy with the Walker Brothers

## Abstract

Take It Easy with the Walker Brothers is the debut album by the American pop group the Walker Brothers. It is also commonly known as Take It Easy. The group's musical accompaniment was directed by Ivor Raymonde and produced by John Franz and Nick Venet. It was released in 1965 and reached number three on the UK Albums Chart. The album contains the group's first major hit single " Make It Easy on Yourself ". Receiving good to mixed reviews, the album was released in both Mono and Stereo LP formats in November 1965. The album was later released on CD having been remastered and expanded in 1998. The sleeve notes were written by Brian Mulligan, the then press officer for Philips Records, with photography by Terence Donovan.

## Introducing the Walker Brothers

In the USA the album was released on Smash Records as Introducing the Walker Brothers in December 1965. This alternate version shifted the running order around and replaced " Lonely Winds ", "Girl I Lost in the Rain", "First Love Never Dies", and "Tell the Truth" with the singles " Love Her ", " My Ship Is Coming In " and " Pretty Girls Everywhere ", along with the last's B-side "Doin' the Jerk". The group can be seen miming "Doin' the Jerk" on the 1965 beach party movie Beach Ball.

Introducing the Walker Brothers is now out of print. In 2008 Water Records released the Philips Take It Easy track listing in the US for the first time.

## Reception

Take It Easy with the Walker Brothers received good to mixed reviews from the majority of critics. Richie Unterberger writing retrospectively for Allmusic described the US version Introducing the Walker Brothers as "an erratic affair" that features "their trademark balladeering groove with the hits "Make It Easy On Yourself" and "My Ship Is Comin' In," but stiff on uptempo R&B numbers like "Land of 1,000 Dances" and "Dancing in the Street"."

## Track listing

### Take It Easy (Philips Records)

### Introducing The Walker Brothers (Smash Records)

## Personnel

- Gary Walker - drums, vocals

- John Walker - guitar, vocals

- Scott Walker - vocals, guitar, keyboards

with:

- The Quotations - accompaniment on "Everything's Gonna Be Alright"

- Jack Nitzsche - arranger and conductor on "Love Her" and The Seventh Dawn"

- Ivor Raymonde - music director

- Reg Guest- music director on "Young Man Cried" and "I Need You"

- John Franz - producer

- Nick Venet - producer on "Pretty Girls Everywhere", "Doin the Jerk", "Love Her", and "The Seventh Dawn"

- Terence Donovan - photography