Martin Truex Jr. hopes to 'go out on top' after winning regular season championship
Winning the NASCAR regular season championship is a big deal. Martin Truex Jr. clinched his second championship ever. 15 bonus playoff points, momentum heading into the playoffs, and tracks coming up that fit into his wheelhouse.
At Daytona, Martin Truex Jr. only finished P24. However, he clinched the regular season title just after Stage 2 ended. So, it’s not that big of a deal. Truex had a win, two top-5s, and three top-10s in his last six starts.
With the regular season wrapped up, the 19-team driver is focused on keeping the moment up throughout the playoffs. 10 weeks between now and the championship.
“Yeah, no question. I think the 19 team, not only that, but everybody at JGR, TRD, Toyota, just as a whole, as a group, we’ve won a lot more races this year, had a lot more speed across the board with all of our cars,” Truex Jr. explained. “For me, just my guys, really buckling down, like you said, finding things that I need, finding things that stuck out that we could work on for me, has been a huge help.
“Just it’s fun to go to the track and know they’re going to give me something I can go out and win with almost every single weekend. We didn’t have that last year. It’s a lot of fun to race that way. We’ve got it right now. Hopefully, we can have it for 10 more weeks and go out on top here.”
Martin Truex Jr. also won Stage 1 at Daytona, adding another playoff point to his record.
Now the goal is clear, execute for the next 10 weeks.
Martin Truex Jr. has another championship in his sights
Given all of the success that Martin Truex Jr. has had, he has to be thinking about a championship. This isn’t quite the dominant year that the 2017 season was, however, he’s one of the strongest drivers in the field.
Between William Byron, Chris Buescher, and Truex Jr. it feels like one of them will be hoisting the Bill France Cup at the end of the year. The Cup Series schedule is long and grueling and we really should give the regular season championship more credit than we do now.
With his bonus points secured, Truex just has to keep doing what he’s been doing the last two months of the season. The one thing that wins championships is consistency and in 2023, the 19 team has been the most consistent.
Martin Truex Jr. was 31st at Darlington this season. However, it is a track he’s won at in the past. He’s been solid at Kansas as well. Expect him to get through the first round just fine and then, everything will ramp up as these drivers duke it out for a chance at history.