The last month or so has seen Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Martin Truex Jr. contemplate retiring from the sport at the end of the season. However, as time progressed it became even more uncertain if he would remain or hang up his helmet at the end of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.
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After extensive discussions and debates, Truex Jr. ultimately made the decision to continue his racing career with JGR, much to the relief of his team and fans. Recently, the 2017 Cup Series champion revealed the specific details that led to his change of heart regarding retirement.
Martin Truex Jr. reveals why he decided to continue racing
While speaking with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Truex Jr. mentioned, “I’m not really good at making big decisions. I’ll start with that. So that’s kind of why it takes me so long. I don’t really like to commit to things that take up a lot of my time. So you can see the dilemma I was faced with. But, at the end of the day, I couldn’t.”
“I could not find a reason why I shouldn’t keep racing.”
We know @MartinTruex_Jr isn’t good at making big decisions (his words, not ours). So why opt to return to @JoeGibbsRacing in 2024?
🤷🏻♂️ “I could not find a reason why I shouldn’t keep racing. That was really how simple it was.” #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/aizt65NVmR
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) September 6, 2023
He added, “It was really how simple it was. Feel like we can win every week, Feel like we can win a championship this year, next year, whenever and that was really the deciding factor. So I just had to kind of get my head in the right place and make sure you know, so I have a great team…”
Furthermore, the JGR driver stated that he made the decision to continue doing things the way he had been doing them. He also expressed that he had the support of Joe Gibbs and everyone else to continue with his approach, which made the last couple of years a lot of fun for him.
How has Truex’s season been so far?
The 2023 season has to be one of the finer campaigns for the JGR driver. Just recently, he managed to pick up the regular season title, after an intensely satisfying battle for the lead against Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron. The two drivers have been the championship favorites this year, considering how well they have fared so far.
As the playoffs are now underway, Truex Jr. finds himself in a favorable position regarding his points tally. However, it remains to be seen whether he will make it to the final four race at Phoenix later this year.
Nevertheless, given his consistent performance and the high-quality cars provided by JGR and TRD, there is a good chance that we will witness Truex Jr. competing for his second title later this year.
