Martin Truex Jr. to drive throwback Dale Earnhardt Inc. paint scheme for final Cup Series race

Martin Truex Jr. will start his final race as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver on Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway, bringing a close to a storied, successful career.

As many other tremendous drivers have called it a career over the past couple of seasons, it’s become commonplace to have a special paint scheme. In Truex’s case, he’s bringing the heat — the No. 19 Toyota will be adorned in a design similar to his Cup Series debut, when he raced for Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

Check out the scheme below, as it’s a return to the burgundy and yellow Bass Pro Shops design Truex ran at the beginning of his time in the Cup Series. Kelly Crandall of RACER took to X to share it with the world.

Martin Truex Jr. will drive a Dale Earnhardt Inc. paint scheme (circa 2004 when he and Bass Pro debuted in the Cup Series) this weekend in his final race as a full-time NASCAR driver pic.twitter.com/H1bAThbINm

— Kelly Crandall (@KellyCrandall) November 5, 2024

“Martin Truex Jr. will drive a Dale Earnhardt Inc. paint scheme (circa 2004 when he and Bass Pro debuted in the Cup Series) this weekend in his final race as a full-time NASCAR driver,” Crandall posted on X, accompanying the photo.

It’ll be bittersweet seeing Truex, 43, walk away from the sport, but it’s something he’s contemplated over the past few years. He’s amassed a highly decorated career, winning 34 races across 19 seasons in NASCAR’s premier series, including two Coca-Cola 600s and a Southern 500. 

He reached the mountain top in 2017 driving the No. 78 Toyota for Furniture Row Racing, winning his first and only Cup Series championship. Truex tallied eight checkered flags that season and capped it off with a victory in the season finale at Homestead-Miami. 

“It’s just overwhelming,” Truex said at the time. “To think about all the rough days and bad days, the days that I couldn’t run 20th; to be here, I never thought this day would come and to be here is so unbelievable.”

Truex’s success continued the following year as he finished runner-up to Joey Logano — his last season with Furniture Row. Furniture Row closed up shop at the end of the 2018 campaign and soon thereafter, Truex signed a deal with Joe Gibbs Racing to pilot the No. 19 Toyota.

Truex finished second again in 2019 and 2021 and has remained one of the Cup Series’ most consistent drivers all the way up to and through the current season.

In addition to his Cup Series career, Truex had one of the better careers in the history of the Xfinity Series. He captured back-to-back Xfinity Series championships in 2004 and ’05 and won 13 races in 104 starts. Truex was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers last year and is a shoo-in for the NASCAR Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible. 

He’ll have one final shot at winning as a full-time wheelman, and Martin Truex Jr. has the perfect car to do it in. Additionally, he’s likely running the 2025 Daytona 500, but any plan to race after that remains far from concrete.

On3’s Nick Geddes contributed to this article.