NASCAR insiders name outcome of one 2024 race they wish was different

The 2024 NASCAR season is over, and two insiders are looking back at one race that should have ended differently. On The Teardown podcast, Jordan Bianchi and Jeff Gluck of The Athletic revealed the one race from 2024 they wished was different.

“I go back to Richmond in the spring, Martin Truex Jr. getting a better restart late and getting that win at Richmond,” Bianchi said. “His final season as a full-time driver, he would have that moment in the sun. He didn’t get to go to victory lane this year, but he would have won a race. “It’s really neat for me to see when drivers can win races in their final years.”

Gluck agreed with Bianchi, saying that it would have been great to see a legend like Truex ending his full-time career with a win. “I feel like we in this generation have sort of been robbed of some great potential sendoff moments for the future Hall of Famers who have been retiring,” Gluck said. “Martin Truex Jr. winning in his final year would have been a nice feel-good story even though at the time we didn’t know it was his final year. But you could have said alright, was this his last win ever? You could have at least acknowledged it.”

Martin Truex Jr. came close to winning NASCAR Richmond race

Truex finished fourth in the Richmond Race that took place on March 31. He announced his retirement on June 14 and went on to reach the playoffs. In his career, Truex won 34 Cup Series races, claimed the Cup Series title in 2017 and was named one of NASCAR’s 75 best drivers in 2023.

“Just felt like the right time for me, Truex told reporters at the time. “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.”