Was anyone shocked when Martin Truex Jr. recently said he would quit full-time racing after this season? You shouldn’t have been. After all, the New Jersey native had hinted for several years he was growing weary of NASCAR’s relentless grind.
And, really, who could blame him?
“MTJ” turned 44 last month and has raced for more than half his life. He was in Modified and Busch North before becoming a Xfinity Series star at age 24. He won the 2004-05 titles for Dale Earnhardt Inc., then went Cup racing for that company in 2006. He’s raced ceaselessly — 669 consecutive starts, dating from the 2006 Daytona 500 — for DEI, Earnhardt-Ganassi, Michael Waltrip and Barney Visser. He’s been with Joe Gibbs Racing since 2018.
No debate: He’s a cinch Hall of Famer. Whether he’s selected when he becomes eligible in 2027 depends largely on who else is on the 10-person ballot that takes only two nominees. Rest assured, though, he’ll eventually make it.
In addition to those two titles and 13 Xfinity victories, Truex Jr. has 34 Cup victories with four organizations. His 2021 Craftsman Series victory put him among the 40 drivers to have won in each of NASCAR’s top three series. The 2017 Cup Series championship with Visser and crew chief Cole Pern was doubly impressive since that was a single-car, self-sponsored team based in far-off Colorado.
Truex Jr., by all accounts, has always been a fair and respectful racer, an exemplary teammate and model citizen.
“He’s a class guy, a hall of fame driver and hall of fame person,” said one of his former marketing/PR reps. “He was always willing to sign autographs, and no matter how upset he might have been he showed respect to the media by answering all their questions. Off-track, he was equally as classy while his foundation (with lifetime partner, the late Sherry Pollack) donated millions to children’s cancer research.”
Another PR veteran said: “He’s a good dude, the type who’d be great to have as a friend. He’s a straight-up guy who has no problem telling you how he feels about a situation and has the back of every person on his team. Last, but not least, he’s a great driver, someone one hundred percent dedicated to his craft, someone who appreciates the incredible success he’s achieved at every level. He’s earned his retirement.”
Team owner Joe Gibbs said all the right things during his driver’s retirement announcement.
“Everybody has such respect for Martin, and I did everything I could to keep it going,” he said. “Through all his successes it’s been great working with Martin. Everyone knows he has a reputation of a real gentleman and a great competitor. Retirement was always up to him.
“We talked over the years as he thought about things, but it was different this year. I could tell he was totally relaxed. I could read that in him. I think he’s going to have a lot of opportunities, (but) as much as anything, he’ll be setting his own schedule and doing whatever he wants.”
The first question to Truex Jr. during his announcement was the only one that really mattered: Why now, someone asked?
“It felt like the right time,” he said. “I’ve thought about it the past few seasons and waited for that ‘feeling’ to be positive. Like, ‘This is okay; I’m good; I want to do something else.’ Something felt different this year. It was time to slow down and do something else. I’ve known for a few weeks — leaning that way most of the season — but I wasn’t totally sure until now.
“Everyone in my family who’s ever gotten married … I’ve missed their weddings. You don’t have a life in racing; you’re married to it; that’s all you do Monday to Sunday. I took a while to think about it (because) it affects not just me, but a lot of people. That’s the toughest part because you don’t want to let people down. I’ve never missed a race, never missed a practice, never been late for anything. You live by a schedule that somebody else makes and it’s time to make my own schedule. That’s what it boils down to: I don’t want anyone telling me when I can and can’t do what I want to do.”
But … (There’s almost always a “but.”)
“But I still love racing and I’m still going to race,” he added. “I don’t know what, when, how or why, but I’m going to figure it out. I feel fortunate to be in position to make this decision on my terms. It’s a good feeling to make your own way and do things you want to do. That’s kind of what led me to this.”
His most recent victory came in New Hampshire last summer. He goes into Sunday afternoon’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis on a 37-race winless streak. That’s not awful at some places, but it’s unsettling at JGR, where winning comes fairly often. (JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell have three victories this season and already are Playoff-eligible.)
“This decision isn’t performance-related,” said Truex Jr., whose successor in the No. 19 Toyota will be Chase Briscoe. “We’ve had some disappointments, but not enough to make us stop doing what we want to do. It’s not related to performance in any way, shape or form. Still, there’ve been heartbreakers, a lot of things you could go back and think, ‘Man, I wish that had turned out different.’ But I’ve achieved more than I ever thought I would.
“You know, a Cup championship, (two in Xfinity), three runner-up finishes in this Playoff format … I feel that’s good, and I’m proud of what I’ve done. I’ve given it everything I’ve had and feel I was really good at what I did. I’m happy. I’m content. I feel good about this.”
As well he should.
Most Popular
Comments / 0