Martin Truex Jr. Announces Retirement from NASCAR

NASCAR Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr. announced that he will retire from full-time competition at the end of the 2024 season. Truex, who won the championship in 2017, has competed full-time in NASCAR's premier series for nearly twenty years, accumulating 34 Cup wins, 146 top-five finishes, and 287 top-10 finishes.

Truex reached the peak of his career in 2017, his twelfth full-time year at the highest level of motorsports, by winning eight races and finishing in the top 10 twenty-six times. That brilliant season earned him his first NASCAR Cup Series championship, as well as the first for Furniture Row Racing. This victory marked the beginning of a prolonged era of success for Truex, who has reached the Championship 4 five times, tying the historical record.

The collaboration between Truex and his crew chief, Cole Pearn, was among the most fruitful of the 2010s, with 24 victories between 2015 and 2019. Pearn followed Truex from Furniture Row Racing to Joe Gibbs Racing, where Truex has driven the No. 19 Toyota since 2019. In their first season with Joe Gibbs Racing, the duo secured seven victories, and Truex has added eight more since Pearn's retirement, working with his current crew chief, James Small.

Truex, a New Jersey native, is one of the last remaining links in NASCAR to Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, having started his Cup Series career with the team in 2006 and securing his first victory at Dover Motor Speedway the following year. Additionally, Truex won consecutive Xfinity Series titles in 2004 and 2005 with Chance2 Motorsports.

David Wilson, president of TRD U.S.A., highlighted Truex's career: "Martin has been a fierce competitor, a champion, and a loyal friend to Toyota and TRD for over a decade. He is the only NASCAR driver to win Cup races in a Toyota Camry with three different teams, a remarkable achievement. His genuine personality and consistent performance have made him a fan favorite and someone who will truly be missed on the track each week. Martin's racing achievements highlight how talented he is, and his extraordinary work off the track with the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation showcases the great person he continues to be. Martin is a future Hall of Famer, and someone we will always be proud to call part of the Team Toyota family."