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Martin Truex Admits to Playing the Retirement Game With a Bold 2024 Prediction

Published 02/23/2024, 6:44 AM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

The elder of the Cup Series, Martin Truex Jr has always been an unpredictable one. The reason – his calm demeanor and vow to race clean. Having already clinched a Cup Series title, two Busch Series, and multiple crown-jewel races, there’s not much left for him to achieve. Yet, his plans for retirement intrigue everyone. Last year, when everyone thought Martin Truex Jr. was going to retire after the 2023 season, he shut everyone up by grabbing the regular season title. But what happens after 2024? Well, as per the latest conversation that he had on SiriusXM Radio studio, he has some interesting plans. He would most likely want to retire in style.

Martin Truex Jr. is comfortable with the idea of a unique retirement plan

For the past two years, Truex has been toying with the idea of retirement, and it is already a conversation for 2024. In fact, even before the Daytona 500 showdown, when a media person tossed the question at Truex about whether he’d keep everyone on tenterhooks again this year about hanging up his helmet, his reply was short and sweet, peppered with a chuckle, “Yeah, probably. I have no idea what I’m doing next year.”

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But then, in a more laid-back moment on SiriusXM NASCAR, when a fan’s dream of Truex clinching the championship, dropping the mic in Victory Lane, and striding off into the sunset was shared with him, Truex couldn’t hide his amusement. “It’s hell of a prediction. Yeah,he said. You know, it’d be all, I’d be okay with that. I could see myself doing that.”

Truex also owned up to stirring the pot a bit when it comes to the retirement buzz saying, “Yeah, I guess I played some games, you know. situation. I am not good at making big decisions.” It’s no secret that for racers who’ve poured their hearts into NASCAR, saying goodbye to the track is no small feat. Kevin Harvick‘s 2023 bow-out put him on a farewell tour of sorts, but it seems Truex isn’t keen on that kind of spotlight or rush to decide. From his end, Joe Gibbs hasn’t pressed him for a 2025 roadmap just yet, keeping the main thing the main thing – this season’s races.

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Yet, Truex is the picture of Zen amid all the speculation, planning to maintain his cool throughout the season. A snippet of this chill vibe was on display at Daytona, where he was seen putting his panicked crew chief in ‘mute’ mode.

Martin Truex Jr. could not tolerate the panic mode of his crew chief

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At Daytona, when chaos broke out on lap 192, Martin Truex Jr ducked into the pits for a quick tire swap. But James Small, his crew chief, was on pins and needles, worrying that a red flag could throw a wrench in their plans. He didn’t hold back on the team radio, urgently barking orders to hustle with the tire change.

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“Calm The F**k Down”- Martin Truex Jr Puts Spotter In His Place For Snapping Out At Daytona

This didn’t sit well with Truex. The din from Small was more of a distraction than a directive for the seasoned driver- “Get the ****** thing up before they red flag it! Get the ****** right front (tire) off,” Small screamed on the team radio. The tone his crew chief took actually annoyed the JGR champion, whose focus might have been disturbed as a result. “Blowing everyone’s eardrums out ain’t going to help ****, so just calm the **** down,” Martin Truex Jr. said.

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Written by:

Neha Dwivedi

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Neha Dwivedi is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports. As a journalist, she religiously believes in the power of research, which allows her readers to dive deep into her stories and experience the detailed nuances of the sport like never before. Being proficient with Core Sport and Live Event Coverage, she has written multiple copies on the top entities of Stock Car Racing, like Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and Tony Stewart.
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Edited by:

Rohan Karnad