Martin Truex Jr. made plenty of strong friendships over his two-decade-long career in the NASCAR Cup Series. One of those is with Dale Earnhardt Jr. The duo raced against each other for years fighting for the win but never crossed lines that would jeopardize their mutual respect. This is why Dale Jr. tipped his hat in an ode to Truex before the 2024 season finale in Phoenix on Sunday.
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The race was the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s final full-time battle in the Cup Series. Dale Jr. revealed on the Dale Jr. Download podcast that he’d put up posts on social media congratulating him and also sent him a text message before meeting him in person. He continued explaining the driver’s character and providing his thoughts about what his retirement would be like.
He said that Truex is a terrible communicator. Replying to messages or being on the phone a lot isn’t his cup of tea. He noted, “He (Truex Jr.) is terrible at text messages and if you don’t, you know, you might not hear from him for damn months. He’s that kind of friend, right? But you’ll see him at the hunting lodge and you know it’s all good. That’s just who he is.”
He added on to what his final words to the driver were before the finale, “I just was like, ‘Yeah, man. Have some fun.’ It doesn’t seem like it’s an emotional thing for him.”
“I do know he’s going to race some more so he knows he’s going to be right back in the car before the season, I think he’s running the Daytona 500 for somebody.” The “somebody” being Denny Hamlin and his team 23XI Racing.
Why retiring from the Cup Series isn’t an emotional moment for Truex Jr.
Truex’s retirement has been a storyline in each of the last three or four seasons. It had long been coming and ended up being no surprise to him when it did. Dale Jr. believes that the preparation period that the veteran had is why he did not feel very emotional before or after the Phoenix race.
He said that there was more to Truex’s life than just racing. He loves to hunt, fish, and just spend time outdoors. Dale Jr. expressed profound happiness at the fact he will finally get to do those things after grinding hard on the race track continually for over 20 years.
His words went, “It’ll be cool because he won’t have the stresses of racing. Right or wrong, racing made me a miserable person 90% of the time. Him too. I mean, ask Kyle Busch. Ask anybody. Unless you’re winning, you’re not happy at all.” He concluded by stating that Truex will be a completely different person now that the heavy pressure of racing performance is off him.
