NASCAR veteran Martin Truex Jr. confirmed his plans to retire from full-time racing at season’s end Friday, saying at a news conference that he has “achieved more than I ever thought I would.”
Truex, who will turn 44 later this month, was the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion and finished the series in second place three more times since 2018. He has won 34 Cup Series races to date.
“It’s been incredible. It’s been a hell of a ride. I’m excited about the future, and I’m not really sure what that looks like yet,” Truex said at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, ahead of this weekend’s Iowa Corn 350.
Truex said he was ready to live life by his own schedule, rather than somebody else’s.
“It’s the right time for me,” Truex said. “I’ve thought about it a lot for the last few seasons — just waited for that feeling in my mind to be positive, like âThis is OK, I’m good, and I want to do something else.’
“In the 21 years that I’ve done this, I’ve never missed a race. I’ve never missed a practice. I’ve never been late for anything. I’ve never missed an appearance. You live your life by a schedule that somebody makes for you, and it’s just time for me to make my own schedule.”
Joe Gibbs said Truex will remain with his team as a Joe Gibbs Racing ambassador. Truex may also occasionally drive for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series, where he won consecutive titles in 2004-05.
The Athletic reported Thursday that Chase Briscoe is the top candidate to take over for Truex in the No. 19 car, but Gibbs did not commit to a succession plan when speaking Friday.
“We’re still working on all that and so we just want to focus right now on Martin and all that stuff will take place later on,” Gibbs said. “So, we’re thrilled to kind of be here supporting, all of our guys are here. Martin means a lot to us.”
Truex is a two-time Cup Series regular-season champion (2017, 2023) and won the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 in 2016 and 2019, among other highlight victories. He has yet to win this season, his last checkered flag coming at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2023.
“I would say I’ve achieved more than I ever thought I would,” Truex said. “That being said, there’s a lot of heartbreakers. There’s a lot of things you go back and think about like, âMan, if that had turned out different.'”
