At perhaps his final NASCAR Awards banquet this past week, Martin Truex Jr. found himself reflecting on a storied NASCAR Cup Series career and what lies ahead in racing.
In his final full-time Cup Series season this year, he was unable to reach victory lane. Truex described the year in which he finished 10th in the standings as a season of “missed opportunities.”
“I mean, I think just overall, didn’t get the job done,” Truex said. “But, had a lot of speed, had a lot of moments. A lot of chances to win races and led a decent amount of laps. So, all in all, it was alright, just didn’t get any trophies which we were really after.”
He ended the year with two straight pole positions at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and Phoenix Raceway. Aboard his familiar No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Truex tallied 11 top-10 finishes and an average finish of 17.4.Â
Truex looked to be in prime position to notch a win in March at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, where he led 228 of the 407-lap race. However, a late-race caution forced overtime, where he lost the battle to teammate and eventual winner Denny Hamlin.
Truex didn’t take much time to reflect about a season of missed opportunities. He eyed the positives of which he described as a “giant weight lifted off my shoulders” as he enters a new chapter in his life.
“I think you carry around a lot of pressure to perform and there’s a lot to being a driver at this level,” Truex said. “So, just feel kind of relieved and very proud, happy about my career and what I was able to do.
“I’m looking forward to going to have some fun.”
The fun for Truex, according to him, begins in Februrary at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway at the season-opening Daytona 500. While it was rumored he’d be piloting a 23XI Racing Toyota, that is no longer the case.Â
“No, it’s not, I’m not sure what they’re doing,” Truex said. “Honestly, it’s kind of up in the air. I (was) just told Gibbs, JGR is doing it somehow, so we’ll see.”
Along with the Daytona 500, Truex revealed he’s tentatively scheduled to run a part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule next season.
“I’m going to do (the) Daytona 500 and then looking forward to running some Xfinity cars a bit here and there,” Truex said. “Just to have fun and see how it goes. I really enjoy that style of car… low downforce and just the older cars that we raced.
“I’m looking forward to doing a little bit of that again and other than that, not sure. But I’ve got a lot of hobbies and I need to catch up on those and I’m excited about that.”