Martin Truex Jr. tells Dale Earnhardt Jr. what kept him going in NASCAR Cup Series, why he's retiring

Martin Truex Jr. announced his retirement from full-time competition last month, effective at the end of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series campaign. However, the decision was a longtime coming.

On the latest episode of The Dale Jr. Download, Truex Jr. detailed what kept him returning to the Cup Series year after year, even though a myriad of people expected him to retire multiple times over the last couple of seasons. Evidently, it was simply the love of the competition, and the yearning to win.

“I don’t know, just the desire to compete. Wanting to win more races, wanting to have another shot at a championship,” Truex Jr. told Dale Earnhardt Jr. “I don’t know exactly what the difference was, it’s just like, ‘Okay, I’m okay now.’ I don’t know, I feel good about stepping back, and it just felt like the right time. I don’t know, I kind of simplified my life. I’ve got things in order. Been working hard on that. Just to have my future set to where I’m comfortable, and I’m happy and I’m doing the things I want to do, and yeah, I don’t know exactly.

“There wasn’t like a day I woke up and I was like, ‘Alright, I’m done, and these are the ten reasons.’ I didn’t make a list and checkoff pros and cons or anything. I just waited until I felt like it was the right time, and yeah, here we are.”

While Truex Jr. didn’t exactly have a eureka moment where he knew it was time to retire, the schedule that full-time Cup Series racing requires was simply grating on him, and Truex Jr. was ready for a change.

“I still enjoy driving, obviously, so I want to keep doing that some. Hopefully I can make it workout where it stays fun, and I feel like I can go win still, which I feel like that shouldn’t be a problem. I just want to get off — tired of running on that hamster wheel, you know? Wide open, everyday, all day, every week. Just the scheduling and the traveling is just something I need a break from,” the former NASCAR champion stated. “But otherwise, I still like to race.”

Martin Truex Jr. is planning on running a couple of races next season, including the Daytona 500 in the Cup Series. Perhaps that’ll be enough to satisfy his desire. Regardless, fans will enjoy the final couple of months of his full-time driving career over the rest of the 2024 campaign.