Martin Truex Jr. will close the book on his illustrious career as a full-time race car driver in the NASCAR Cup Series at the end of the season. Spanning almost two decades, the veteran race car driver has won almost everything there is to win. However, there are still some regrets. The biggest one is becoming a multi-time Cup Series champion. Truex won the title in 2017 but believes that he should have done it at least a couple more times.
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“You always look back at what you wish you did better. The three second-place championship finishes still hurt. I feel like I probably should have three championships, not one. I’d say four. I think the one we got actually we weren’t the fastest car that race and kind of stole that one (in 2017),” he said in a media interaction.
He has also never won the Daytona 500 in his career. He came mighty close in 2016 when he finished P2 and lost the title by just 0.010 seconds. However, the veteran does not sweat over that result. There was no caution at the end of that race and he was beaten fair and square. Truex believes that there have been a lot of almosts in his career that are more disappointing than losing out on winning The Great American Race.
The veteran has a chance to win the Cup Series championship this season as he is a part of the playoffs. He is not in a good place right now on points after the first race of the round of 16. The veteran sits in 15th on points, 19 points behind the round of 12 cutline. That margin can be closed in two races but the Joe Gibbs Racing star has to execute well.
JGR legend thankful for illustrious NASCAR run
Despite missing out on certain accolades, there is no denying that the veteran race car driver has one of the greatest careers in the sport’s recent history. He has close to 700 starts in the competition and 34 race wins so far. Truex would be looking to increase that win tally as much as possible before the end of the current season. But even if that doesn’t happen, the veteran will remain thankful for the run he has had so far.
“There were times in my career I thought it was coming to an end pretty soon,” he added. “So I definitely lasted longer than I thought, especially back then. I feel very fortunate to have accomplished what I have. I’m very lucky to go out on my own terms when I think back to the days when I was struggling and wondering where is this all going and what am I going to do.”
It will be interesting to see how his final season will turn out. One thing is for certain, at the end of the year, the sport will lose one of its modern-day greats and he will be celebrated by everyone on his way out.
