Kevin Harvick speculates on how long Joe Gibbs will allow Martin Truex Jr. controversy to go on

For the past few years, Martin Truex Jr. has contemplated retirement before ultimately returning to Joe Gibbs Racing for another season.

This year is no different, as the 43-year-old once again is faced with the decision of continuing to drive or call it a career. Joe Gibbs Racing has been patient with allowing Truex to take his time to come to the right decision for what he wants to do. In 2022, that decision came in July. Last year, Truex made that call in August. 

Kevin Harvick wonders, however, if this may be the year JGR puts the pressure on Truex to make a decision earlier. Speaking on his “Happy Hour” podcast, the FOX Sports analyst said he’s curious how much longer Joe Gibbs is gonna allow Truex to go year-to-year on a decision before opting to go into a rebuild.

Kevin Harvick: ‘Time for Martin to make a decision’

“I think it’s time for Martin to make a decision,” Harvick said. “Does he want to race, [or] does he not want to race? And how long is Joe Gibbs gonna sit back and have that controversy of Truex trying to decide am I gonna race again next year? You hear the frustration on TV, on the radio and everything that he’s got going on, so where’s that balance of OK, I’m Joe Gibbs Racing — we just need to end this year-to-year stuff and start to build a stable program. I know Martin is gonna be consistent and run in the front and do the things that he needs to do, but at some point, you gotta rebuild.

“You look at Hendrick, they stopped and rebuilt. You look at the 54 car at Joe Gibbs Racing with Ty Gibbs, he jumped right in there and was able to put them in contention to at least be in the conversation of winning races. I think with Martin, at some point that has to get old of just continuously going back and forth on a year-to-year basis of are you gonna come back next year. So, I think that decision — it sounds like they’re putting more pressure on Martin this year to [make that decision] earlier. We gotta know what we’re planning around here and move forward.”

Who could replace Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19 car for Joe Gibbs Racing?

Truex is in his 19th full-time season in the Cup Series and sixth with JGR. He currently sits fourth in the points standings, still looking for his first win of the season. The 2017 Cup Series champion is no doubt a first ballot Hall of Famer, meaning replacing him in the No. 19 will be a tall task.

Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports pointed out earlier this week that Chase Briscoe could be a possibility with Stewart-Haas Racing announcing last week that it will shut down operations after the 2024 campaign. Briscoe is the current top driver at SHR, sitting 15th in the points standings. Pockrass also mentioned Erik Jones, who previously piloted the No. 20 Toyota for JGR from 2018-20. 

“If Truex does decide to retire, Briscoe, the top SHR driver at 15th in the Cup standings, could be a possible candidate,” Pockrass wrote. “If JGR wants to stay in the current Toyota stable, it could try to make a run at Legacy Motor Club driver Erik Jones, who has previously driven for JGR.”