Former Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Martin Truex Jr. shifted gears from full-time racing in NASCAR after the conclusion of the 2024 season at Phoenix. Although, he’s not quite ready to park his racing career for good just yet. Despite Denny Hamlin offering him a spot in his 23XI Racing team’s #50 car, Truex Jr. seems hesitant about racing under the 23XI Racing banner.
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Approached by journalists before the NASCAR Awards Ceremony in Downtown Charlotte, Truex Jr. was quizzed about his plans for 2025. He shared, “Racing-wise, I mean, I’m going to do the Daytona 500 and looking forward to running some Xfinity Series cars a bit here and there, just to have fun and see how it goes.”
Regarding the offer from 23XI Racing, the ex-Joe Gibbs Racing driver expressed uncertainty: “I’m not sure what they’re doing, honestly. Kind of up in the air. I just told Gibbs, JGR is doing it somehow, so, we’ll see.”
23XI Racing recently expanded itself to a three-car operation, but it finds itself in the middle of legal matters, being one of two teams, along with Front Row Motorsports, that are suing NASCAR on antitrust grounds.
Meanwhile, given that Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is already operating at full capacity with four charters — the maximum allowed by NASCAR — they may need to join forces with Legacy Motor Club to give Truex Jr. a chance to compete. After all, LMC is the only other team besides JGR and 23XI Racing that collaborates with Toyota.
Truex Jr. is eyeing opportunities beyond NASCAR Cup Series racing
Speaking in a pre-race interview ahead of the season finale at Phoenix, the seasoned driver shared his enthusiasm for returning to the grassroots level, starting with a race close to his roots.
He planned to revisit Wall Stadium, his home track, for their annual Thanksgiving showdown, the Turkey Derby — a race he conquered at the age of 19. Since it’s a major event in that region, Truex plans on throwing his hat in the ring once again.
NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt Jr. previously hinted at stepping back from piloting the #88 Chevy in the National Series. Therefore, Truex Jr. could potentially make appearances in his place. When pressed by reporters about the possibility of taking over the #88, and whether Junior tried contacting him for the same, Truex responded with a straightforward “Not yet.”
But the 2017 Cup Series Champion followed it up stating, “I’m not sure. It would be fun to race with him again. So, if he can’t do any Xfinity races, I might have to jump over there and do that.”
Whether it’s Cup, Xfinity, or grassroots, it’s clear Truex still has some racing left in him and he’ll certainly appear behind the wheel of a race car soon enough.
