Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Martin Truex Jr. seems to be comfortably headed to the playoffs in 2024. However, the best way to ensure one’s path to the final 16 is by winning a race which the #19 Toyota Camry driver is yet to do this season. Hoping to be rejuvenated after the sport’s 2-week break, Truex will be looking to earn a victory during the final four events of the regular season. The Cup Series will race at Richmond Raceway this coming weekend and it might be his best chance of ensuring a place in what will be the New Jersey native’s final playoffs bid.
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The 44-year-old has a fantastic record at the 0.750-mile-long track. He has won five races at the venue and has earned 10 top-five finishes and 18 top-10s in 36 starts. He has also led 1587 laps at the track, 228 of which came in April earlier this year. However, the #19 driver was jumped on the final restart by teammate Denny Hamlin who won the race last time around. Truex will hope for a different outcome this time at a track he has always been fond of.
On this day in 2019, Martin Truex Jr won at Richmond! pic.twitter.com/9ciJdEhiPD
— Nascarpixtures (@Nascarpixtures) September 21, 2023
“I’ve always really liked it, to be honest. From the first time I raced there in 2003, I’ve always enjoyed the track. There was a long period where I didn’t have great numbers there, but I felt like I loved the track and always ran well there and had a lot of crazy things happen there throughout my career,” he said in a recent media interaction.
His recent form, however, can be a cause for concern. The veteran race car driver has finished in the top 10 in only two of his last 10 races. Earning as many points as possible is crucial if he wants one last shot at winning the championship, just as he did in 2017.
Truex has high hopes for Richmond weekend
Speaking further to the media before the race weekend, the Cup Series champion made his intentions clear that he wanted to win at Richmond. The veteran JGR driver seems full of confidence after his previous performance earlier in the season. A win could fortify the #19 team’s aspirations for a final championship bid with the 44-year-old.
“I think we’ve improved our program a ton and have been putting on a show at some of the short tracks and places like Richmond,” Truex said. “We had such a dominant run there in the spring and the caution came out and our race went haywire from there. Would like to get back out front and stay there on Sunday.”
Richmond has served up several surprises in the past and it could do it again this weekend. The 2024 Cook Out 400 goes live from the venue on Sunday, August 11, 2024, at 6:00 pm ET.
