After a stellar career that has spanned 21 NASCAR Cup Series seasons, Martin Truex Jr. is retiring from full-time racing at the end of the 2024 season.
That doesn’t mean, however, that we’ve seen the last of the 44-year-old from Mayetta, New Jersey. Truex already has plans to race in the 2025 Daytona 500 with Cole Pearn as his crew chief.
“Oh, yeah, I’m going to be there, racing the Cup car,” Truex said Saturday during an interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “I’m retiring, and I’m going to be at the very next race. So I’m not really sure what’s going on.
“But the thing is, when all these guys pack up to go to Mexico City, I’ll be on the couch somewhere or out on the boat fishing. Those are the days I’m looking forward to.”
Truex and Pearn teamed up at Furniture Row Racing and won the series championship in 2017. With Pearn on his pit box at FRR and Joe Gibbs Racing, Truex amassed 24 of his 34 career victories.
Next year’s Daytona 500 appearance will be Truex’s first foray into a more relaxed form of competition.
“This is a happy time for me,” said Truex, who won the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. “I’m excited about the future. I’m not done racing. I’m not hanging it up. I’m just going to do it for fun again… With the pressure and the stress of this, being in the Cup Series and all that comes with that, there’s a lot of weight on your shoulders, and it’s hard to enjoy.
“Of course, when you win a bunch of races in a year, you look back and you say, ‘Man, that was awesome.’ What people miss is what it takes to do it, to sustain that level of competitiveness over the years. It takes a lot.
“It’s every day. It’s seven days a week. That’s all you ever think about, and you sacrifice a lot. I’m looking forward to racing the way I used to and enjoying it and just going back and having fun the old-school way.”
