Yahoo Autos Truex to retire at end of 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season
Martin Truex Jr. will retire from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition at the end of the season.
Truex, who has been working on year-to-year deals with Joe Gibbs Racing as he contemplated his future in the sport, announced his decision on Friday at Iowa Speedway.
At 43 years old, the 2017 series champion is the oldest active driver in the Cup Series. With 34 career victories, Truex is currently tied for 20th on the all-time wins list. He has 23 poles and has led over 12,000 laps.
By season’s end, Truex will have made 693 starts in the Cup Series. Across NASCAR’s three national series, the New Jersey native will have made over 800 starts in his career.
“I will not be back full-time next year, “Truex said. “But I’m excited about the rest of the year, obviously. It means the world to me to see Johnny Morris (of Bass Pro Shops) here; he’s been a huge supporter of mine, and I wouldn’t have been able to do any of the things I’ve been able to do without him being behind me for 21 years.
“It’s been incredible. It’s been a hell of a ride. I’m excited about the future; I’m not really sure what that looks like yet, but I feel good about my decision.”
Truex began his NASCAR national series career in 2001 with a start in the Xfinity Series and became a full-time driver in 2004. He claimed back-to-back Xfinity Series championships in 2004 and ’05, driving a team co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Truex moved into the Cup Series in 2006 with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and won his first career race a year later. It was his only victory with the organization, which became Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in 2009.
Michael Waltrip Racing hired Truex in 2010, but an unexpectedly short tenure netted one victory. The organization was heavily penalized in 2013 for a race manipulation scandal at Richmond Raceway to assist Truex in earning a berth in the postseason. However, among the fallout was Truex’s sponsor, NAPA, leaving the organization, resulting in Truex being out of a job.
Truex landed at Furniture Row Racing. A single-car organization, Truex’s career skyrocketed upon joining Barney Visser’s team in 2014, which entered an alliance with Gibbs and Toyota in 2016. In five seasons, Truex won 17 races and a championship.
The title run of Truex’s No. 78 team in 2017 will go down as one of the most dominant in the series as Truex won eight races, had 26 top-10 finishes, 19 stage wins and led 2,253 laps. He clinched the regular-season championship two weeks early, which gave him 53 playoff points going into the postseason.
With his retirement, Truex will vacate the No. 19 Toyota at Joe Gibbs Racing. The organization brought Truex into the fold in 2019 after Furniture Row Racing closed its door. Truex has won 15 races driving for Gibbs and finished second in points twice (2019, 2021).
“I want to thank (Joe Gibbs), everybody at JGR, Toyota, they’ve been absolutely amazing,” Truex said. “To be able to win a championship is something that I always dreamed of and to be able to get that done was amazing. I just feel really lucky to be surrounded by a lot of really great people over the years. To all the guys I’ve worked with: crew members, crew chiefs, team owners, you name it, across the board, it’s been an honor.
“I’ll miss all those people for sure, but I won’t be gone. I’ll be around still and we’re going to do some stuff together, have some fun, and enjoy life a little bit and wind down.”
A replacement for Truex was not announced. Chase Briscoe has been rumored to be among those being considered for the ride, but Gibbs said the focus is on Truex, and plans are still being worked on.
“I did everything I could to keep it going,” Gibbs said of his relationship with Truex. “It’s been absolutely great working with him. I think everybody knows Martin’s reputation: a real gentleman, a great competitor, and it’s something that obviously is going to be a big deal for us. A big loss.”
