Once the checkered flag is displayed this November at Phoenix Raceway, Martin Truex, Jr. will be stepping away from full-time competition in the NASCAR Cup Series. The 43-year-old driver made the announcement Friday during a press conference at Iowa Speedway.
At 43 years old, Truex is currently the oldest full-time competitor in the NASCAR Cup Series. Over the last couple of seasons, the driver has been inking a one-year agreement with Joe Gibbs Racing, while deciding whether he would continue racing.
With Truex’s decision officially signed, sealed, and delivered, Joe Gibbs Racing, one of NASCAR’s most successful organizations, has a vacancy on its four-driver roster for next season. The team did not comment on a replacement for Truex in Friday’s announcement.
Truex has been a full-time driver in the NASCAR Cup Series for the better part of two decades, running for Rookie of The Year (ROTY) honors with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) in 2006. One season later, the Mayetta, New Jersey native collected his first win, with DEI, at Dover.
Leaving Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing after 2009, Truex moved on to Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR), where he piloted the No. 56 NAPA Toyota for four seasons, picking up a single victory at Sonoma Raceway in 2013, just months before being squeezed out of the team as it downsized.
Furniture Row Racing (FRR) picked up Truex, who at the time had two Cup Series victories, for the 2014 season. Things didn’t go to plan in the first season together, but the opportunity would transform his career.
Making the ‘Championship 4’ in 2015, FRR joined forces with Toyota and developed a strong relationship with Joe Gibbs Racing, launching the No. 78 into prominence. In the three seasons that followed, Truex would score 16 victories and the 2017 championship, before the team folded after 2018.
The move was then made for Truex to join forces with Joe Gibbs Racing as the driver of the No. 19 Toyota, the place he’s resided ever since, and recorded 15 additional victories in the Cup Series, bringing his career total up to 34 – currently.
With only 20 races left in his full-time NASCAR Cup Series career, Truex’s stat line is undoubtedly worth Hall of Fame consideration, managing 34 victories, 146 top-five, and 287 top-10 finishes in 673 starts.
And now that his decision is out in the world, the driver’s focus can return to collecting his second NASCAR Cup Series championship and ending his career on a high note with an epic celebration on the stage at Phoenix Raceway.
