After a few seasons of re-signing one-year deals at Joe Gibbs Racing, it appears that 2024 will be Martin Truex Jr.’s final season in the NASCAR Cup Series.
In 673 career Cup starts, Truex has scored 34 Cup wins and the 2017 Cup championship. He is currently the oldest full-time Cup driver (will turn 44 on June 29), and he has the second-most starts of full-time drivers, trailing only Kyle Busch. In addition to his success in the Cup Series, Truex also recorded back-to-back Xfinity Series championships in 2004 and 2005 on his way up the ladder.
When Truex hangs up the helmet, he will unquestionably retire as a first ballot Hall of Famer. His 34 Cup wins are tied for the 25th-most all time, and he is still at the top of his game, as he currently sits fifth in Cup points and scored three wins just one season ago.
Truex and the No. 19 team have shown a ton of speed in 2024 with 447 laps led in the first 16 races, but they’ve had comically back luck to keep them out of victory lane. At Richmond Raceway in March, Truex was going to cruise to a dominant win until a spin with two laps to go set up an overtime restart. At Kansas Speedway in May, Truex was mowing through the field and had just approached leader Denny Hamlin, who had to save fuel, with under 10 laps to go. But once again, a late caution reset the field, and Truex was only able to manage fourth.
Then last Sunday (June 9) at Sonoma Raceway, Truex was poised for a second-place finish at minimum until his car ran out of fuel in the final turn and coasted to the checkered flag in a 3-minute and 19-second, 36 mph lap.
With the amount of speed Truex has shown, it would be a shock if his dominant win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last July proved to be the final triumph of his career. He’s been great at New Hampshire, Nashville Superspeedway, Pocono Raceway, Martinsville Speedway, Richmond and Darlington Raceway, among other tracks, so there are plenty of opportunities for Truex to break into the win column in his last hurrah. And with how good Truex and JGR were at Phoenix Raceway in March, he has the potential to retire on top with a second title this November.
All in all, I predict that Truex will win two races at minimum in final 20 races of 2024. He will either make it to the Round of 8 or the Championship 4, and he will call it a career in one of the more successful farewell seasons in recent memory.
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