Martin Truex Jr. will say goodbye to full-time Cup Series racing at the end of this season. Back when he won the championship in 2017, Dale Earnhardt Jr. also bid adieu to his full-time racing career. The two veterans of the sport shared big milestones of their careers together that year as the season drew to a close at Homestead-Miami.
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On a recent episode of the JR Motorsports owner’s popular podcast, Junior recalled having a moment with Truex Jr. as both celebrated in Victory Lane. The two-time Xfinity Series champion injured himself on a mic as he congratulated the Joe Gibbs Racing driver but it still was an extremely fond afternoon.
Martin Truex Jr won the 2004 Aaron's 312 at Talladega 18 years ago today.
It was his first race ever at #Talladega. His car owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr, pushed him to the win.#MTJ 🏁 pic.twitter.com/x22sB8Pxya
— NASCAR Legends (@LegendsNascar) April 25, 2022
“In everything that’s going on in your world in that moment, for you to think of me and wonder where I was at and when I was going to come over to see you meant the world to me. That was my favorite Martin Truex Jr. moment,” he said.
Earnhardt and Truex’s close bond was evident as both drivers talked about their NASCAR tenures.
How did Dale Earnhardt Jr. help Martin Truex Jr. in racing?
The reason why the 2017 Cup Series champion was able to dip his feet into NASCAR was Junior himself. The JGR star was given an Xfinity Series ride back when he was starting out by Earnhardt.
They even lived under the same roof for a short period. Countless race victories and one Cup championship later both are considered legends of the sport and have a lot of love for one another.
“Dale has meant so much to me, and to see how happy he was, genuinely happy tonight to come to victory lane. I love him like a brother. … It meant a ton that he and Amy came over and said congratulations,” Truex had said back in 2017 as per SB Nation.
Make no mistake, they raced each other hard on track but their friendship was never affected because of it. It truly is a sign of great sportsmanship by both drivers.
