Martin Truex Jr. might not get to win a race in the final full-time season of his career. But he will retire with his name on yet another elite list of drivers. He has led over 500 laps for the tenth consecutive season in 2024, and this makes him the sixth person in the history of NASCAR to achieve the feat.
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Other drivers who are on this list are Richard Petty, Jimmie Johnson, Rusty Wallace, Darrell Waltrip, and Bobby Allison. The fact that Truex has joined them in the final season of his full-time Cup Series career is quite impressive. Drivers usually struggle to run this well in the twilight years of their careers, but the 2017 Cup Series champion has proven that he is different.
Martin Truex Jr has now 500 laps led for the 10th CONSECUTIVE season
He is just the 6th driver in the HISTORY of NASCAR to accomplish this:
Richard Petty – 17
Jimmie Johnson – 15
Rusty Wallace – 14
Darrell Waltrip – 12
Bobby Allison – 10
Martin Truex Jr – 10 pic.twitter.com/gmVszF33xv— Trey Ryan (@TreyRyan99) October 20, 2024
He is still looking for his first race win of the season with only three more races left. It is unlikely that the No. 19 driver will visit victory lane before the end of the year. However, he will be celebrated by the racing community when he crosses the start/finish line for the final time as a full-time driver in Phoenix and he will deserve every bit of the love he receives.
Not having him as a full-time driver next season is bound to be a bit awkward for fans. He is one of the most professional athletes in the Cup Series today. He rarely gets into fights and always races as cleanly as possible. Keeping a level head no matter the situation is something he excels at and something a lot of aspiring race car drivers need to be taught.
Will Truex race part-time next season?
He may be retiring from full-time competition, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver will still race next year. It has been confirmed that he will race under the banner of 23XI Racing in the 2025 Daytona 500. Other dates on his calendar are yet to be filled. But fans most certainly will get to enjoy watching him race a lot and he could even reach victory lane.
“So far I only have one [race scheduled], so I don’t know,” he said as per Newsweek. “As far as I know, it’s all going still. So I think we’re good. You never know these days. Things change in a hurry. There’s a lot going on, like you said, so I have no clue, but I feel confident I have a contract. So that’s a good sign.”
23XI Racing is a competitive race team that will allow Truex to fight for wins whenever he races. It will be interesting to see if the veteran can get to victory lane as a part-time race car driver for the team.
