Martin Truex Jr. has finally announced his retirement from full-time racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. Interestingly, Denny Hamlin will have a car for him if he ever decides to run a part-time season. Hamlin is a co-owner of 23XI Racing which works closely with Joe Gibbs Racing and has been fairly successful as per their standards of late.
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“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,” the 43-year-old said in a recent media interaction.
"He doesn't care about what anyone else thinks, he is Martin Truex Jr." -Christopher Bell reflects on Truex as a driver and teammate.
Also hear from Denny Hamlin, who told Truex he would "have his Daytona 500 car ready," and Ty Gibbs, who praises Truex:
📹@m_massie22 pic.twitter.com/mexLPkDyNz
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) June 15, 2024
Several drivers have run part-time seasons after announcing their retirement from full-time racing. Then again, several others have gone into the broadcasting for the sport. As for Truex Jr.’s immediate future after the season, he will stick around JGR to work as an ambassador and on certain projects. It will be interesting to see what the future has in store for the veteran.
The 2017 Cup Series champion will leave the fraternity as one of the most respected and clean racers the sport has ever seen. Hamlin touched on that side of his teammate stating how he rarely ever put a foot wrong.
Denny Hamlin showers retiring teammate with high praise
The two drivers might have had tension after the Richmond race but the driver of the #11 car has a lot of respect for the #19 as a competitor. NASCAR has a reputation for having drivers who play dirty and do anything they can to get an advantage. As per Hamlin, Truex is not one of them.
“When I think about Martin, I try to think of have I ever had a moment where I have said man I can’t believe he did that and the answer is no. He’s always just done the right thing 100% of the time and that’s just something that’s hard to do,” he added.
NASCAR fans are certain to miss the #19 driver, with his future legacy in the sport looking bright with a possible Hall of Fame induction.
