After eight races in the 2024 Cup Series season, the resounding strength of the new Toyota Camry XSE has been proven without a doubt. Driving the Japanese-make, three victory lanes have been reached so far – all by drivers of Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR). Heading to the next challenge, Martin Truex Jr. opened up on his thoughts about his #19 Camry XSE at the Texas Motor Speedway.
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Asked about the performance of his machine by Frontstretch reporters in Texas, he said, “It’s been good. I mean, honestly, I think everybody did a great job designing the new Camry. Kind of putting ourselves in a in a good position where we can feel like running good everywhere we go.” Truex Jr. has qualified ninth for Sunday’s race and will be shooting to grab the 35th win of his career.
He continued how he hadn’t been able to race consistently well across different track types last year in the previous version of the car and that the new one solved that for him. “It’s been a good blend of being able to still be good on short tracks and road courses and these mile and a halfs, but still be pretty decent at plate racing too,” he said.
Truex Jr.’s assessment of his 2024 Cup Series season thus far
Truex Jr. currently stands second on the points table despite not having a win. He, however, has five top-10 finishes and the best result of runner-up in Bristol. The JGR driver told the press that he hoped he’d executed better in certain races and that he looked forward to doing so in upcoming ones.
His admission went, “For the most part I feel like top three or five cars every race we’ve been to. So, I wish we could have executed a few a little bit better and got that win so far. But, yeah, give us an A and not an A+. But I feel good about where we’re at, what we’re doing, and what we can look forward to.”
All four JGR drivers are currently inside the top 11 in the points table and two (Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell) have already fixed their spots in the playoffs with victories. At the Texas Speedway, Truex Jr. has 5 top-five finishes, 17 top-ten finishes, and no victories over 34 career starts. He hopes to find the leaderboard in the Old West sooner rather than later and fix a seat in the postseason as well.
