Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares his advice to Martin Truex Jr. for the second half of the season
Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants Martin Truex Jr. to enjoy his final races as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver. On the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Earnhardt shared his advice to Truex who announced his retirement last week.
“If you announce your retirement and you’re a champion like he is and a Hall of Famer like he is, people are going to want to celebrate you,” Earnhardt said. “As you go to these races for the rest of the year, people are going to want to take a moment to acknowledge you.
“Genuinely, the reaction or that from us and especially probably from Martin is no I’d rather not. Don’t make it about me, I don’t want any of the spotlight. It’s just another race. I just want to do this and finish it out. But my advice would be to let it happen, absorb it, let people celebrate you. It matters to them. They’re not doing it just for you, they want to know that they are appreciative. They’re glad you were here. They were glad you were part of the sport.”
Earnhardt then said it’s likely different race tracks will take time to honor Triuex and he’ll be asked to do more interviews than normal. The former NASCAR star added that he submitted a request to interview Truex for Dale Jr. Download.
“I would encourage him to do all of those things,” Earnhardt said. “It’s a victory lap. Go for it. Have some fun with it. There’ll be a day when all that’s gone, and much as you may not be in love with all aspects of everything that happens outside of the car, you’re going to find out that you actually liked a lot of it.”
Martin Truex Jr. talks legacy during retirement announcement
Truex is one of the best drivers in NASCAR history as he has won 34 Cup Series races and won the Cup Series title in 2017. During his press conference last week, Truex talked about the highs and lows of his career.
“I would say, I achieved more than I ever thought I would,” Truex told reporters. “That being said, there’s still a lot of heartbreakers, a lot of things you could go back and think about ‘Man, I wish that turned out different.’ You know, a championship, three runners-up in this format. That’s, I feel like, really good. I’m proud of what I’ve done. I feel like I’ve given it everything I’ve had, and I feel like I was really, really good and what I did. Yeah, I’m happy with that. I’m content. I’m good, I’m happy. I feel good about this.”