Martin Truex Jr. speaks out on decision to retire

The news came out on Thursday that Martin Truex Jr. had decided to retire at the end of the 2024 season. Now, the driver has spoken out. The 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion is calling it quits after a Hall of Fame career.

At Iowa Speedway, Martin Truex Jr. spoke to the media about the retirement decision. For the last few years, he has been asked countless times if he is going to retire. In each of the last three seasons, he has decided to come back. Until now.

Truex spoke candidly about the choice to finally go.

“Just felt like the right time for me,” Truex said in his press conference. “Honestly, I’ve thought about it a lot the past few seasons and just waited for that feeling in my mind to be positive. Like, this is, okay I’m good, I want to do something else. Yeah, something just felt different this year for me I felt like it was time to slow down and do something else. It’s been a great ride, though, obviously.”

Martin Truex Jr. said that this year’s struggles on the track did not play a factor in his decision. He also noted that he has known for a few weeks that he was going to retire. This also doesn’t mean he’s done racing completely.

Both Truex and Joe Gibbs were sure to mention that the driver was done racing “full-time.” Let’s not forget that Aric Almirola has raced a handful of times for Gibbs in the Xfinity Series. Could we see Truex go back to the series where he won two championships?

Martin Truex Jr. hanging it up after 2024

For the last few years, the retirement decision has been looming. Once a driver hits 40 it becomes a topic of discussion. That is generally when these decisions are made and it felt like Truex was taking the idea seriously even before this season.

Now that he has decided to call it quits on his full-time career, Truex can do other things. He is an avid outdoorsman, there is also the fact he can have a normal social life with 40 more weekends available to him.

The thing is, Martin Truex Jr. has a chance to go out on top. Last year he won the regular season title before a postseason collapse. However, he’s right back on track this season with a potential back-to-back appearance as regular season champ.

The last two races have been duds. P34 and P27 at Gateway and Sonoma. Martin Truex Jr. is hoping some short track racing at Iowa and New Hampshire in the next two weeks can cure his ailments and get him back to Victory Lane.