Martin Truex Jr. leaves lasting legacy and big seat to fill at JGR
Martin Truex Jr., in true Truex fashion, wouldn’t say what his racing schedule would look like after 2024 beyond that it wouldn’t be a full-time slate.
The future for the 43-year-old Truex, a driver who each of the past three years has weighed heavily whether to retire or not, is still a little murky. The future of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 car appears much more clear.
As competitors lauded the mild-mannered (at least most of the time) Truex for a 19-year full-time Cup career as a competitor, JGR seems close to landing Chase Briscoe, who is losing his Stewart-Haas Racing ride with the organization ceasing operations after this season, as his replacement.
“I feel like I’m pretty close [to a 2025 deal],” Briscoe said Saturday at Iowa Speedway, a day after the Truex announcement, without specifying a team. “I feel pretty good about it. There’s a lot of different [factors in the decision]. Performance is one thing that definitely [in] weighing the options is something that is important, the future and what the future looks like.
“And then obviously, the other part is, what’s going to be the best to provide for my family. With twins on the way, I’m going to have three kids. That is a real thought now, just what’s going to set us up for the future in the best way.”
Briscoe coming to JGR would give the team a balanced driver lineup of a veteran close to the end of his career in Denny Hamlin (age 43, 54 Cup wins), two relatively young drivers with a strong Cup base in Christopher Bell (age 29, eight Cup wins) and Briscoe (age 29, one Cup win) and Ty Gibbs (age 21, second year in Cup).
“We’re still working on all of that,” team owner Joe Gibbs said as far as Truex’s replacement.
Gibbs indicated he wanted Truex to stay.
“I did everything I could to keep it going,” Gibbs said.