Martin Truex Jr. will get into his #19 Toyota Camry XSE one last time in Phoenix this Sunday as a full-time driver. However, this isn’t the last time that fans will see him driving in NASCAR. The 44-year-old veteran clarified, once again, during his pre-race interview in Phoenix that he will still be sporadically racing cars next season. The glimpse he provided into his mind was rather interesting.
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His idea is to not race in the top tier of the sport but to enjoy racing at the grassroots level. He said, “I’d go back to my home track first which is Wall Stadium. They have a big Thanksgiving race every year, the Turkey Derby, and I won it when I was 19. It’s a big race up in that area so I’d like to do it again.” Participating in 2024 is out of the question considering his relentless 20-year marathon.
Back to the beginning!
In his final race as a full-time #NASCAR Cup Series driver, @MartinTruex_Jr will be running the same @BassProShops scheme that he made his Cup debut in. pic.twitter.com/K64RW25m23
— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) November 5, 2024
But he hopes to do it next year. It has also been announced that he will be racing in the 2025 Daytona 500 with a 23XI Racing entry. But with the team caught in a legal battle against the promotion, that appears to be a cloudy front. If not for the season opener, Truex Jr. can still be seen racing in the Xfinity Series. He revealed that he has been in talks with Joe Gibbs about the same.
He added, “We will see what the options are there. I would like to run a few of those next year for sure. I haven’t really looked into Trucks at all – not sure about that – but I’m open to doing some things, so hopefully can have some fun next year and that will include some racing. So, we will see how that all plays out.” His words prove that this is not the end of the road for the famed veteran.
Denny Hamlin is open to fielding Martin Truex Jr. despite everything
23XI Racing might not be in a very secure seat for 2025. But the team’s co-owner Denny Hamlin has assured that Truex Jr. will always have a car at his shop if he ever wants to race in the Cup Series again. The duo have long been teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing and share a profound respect for each other.
Hamlin said in June, “I told him that I would have his Daytona 500 car ready immediately, just tell me the word. 100% I would. He’s a great driver, why wouldn’t I? But yes, we certainly would. Anytime Martin gets bored and wants to run Cup, we would have a seat for him for sure.”
It was after these words that his team got embroiled in the entire charter negotiation debacle and antitrust lawsuit fiasco. The team’s legality to hold charters in 2025 itself is under question after recent developments. However, if these issues are fixed during the offseason, fans can almost certainly watch Truex Jr. race for Hamlin in the Daytona 500.
