Truex knows his next win could be his last in the Cup Series
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Kelly Crandall | August 30, 2024 6:27 PM ET
Eleven is the magic number for Martin Truex Jr.
There are 11 races left in the NASCAR Cup Series season, which means there are 11 chances left for Truex to go to victory lane. He’s retiring at the end of the season, so a win wouldn’t just break the drought dating back to July 2023, but potentially be the last one he earns in the series.
“Yeah, I thought of that before when I’ve won,” Truex said. “I try to always enjoy them all like they were the last because you never know. When we won our last race of the year last year, [we] probably thought we were going to win a couple more before I announced retirement at least. It’s just been tough.
“We certainly perform at the level we need to to get it done but just haven’t. It’s a tough sport and it’s hard to win these things. It takes a lot more than a fast car, so we’ll keep trying.”
Truex has 34 career wins in the Cup Series. His next win would break a tie with Kurt Busch and give Truex sole possession of 20th on the all-time wins list.
Plenty of chances have come and gone for his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team. After winning the 2023 regular-season championship, Truex is ninth in the standings going into the finale at Darlington Raceway (Sunday, 6 p.m. ET). This year, he has three stage wins and 489 laps led (fourth-most in the series).
“We’re right there; we’ve been knocking on the door,” Truex said. “It’d be nice to win a couple before it’s over.”
The highest driver on the playoff grid without a victory, Truex has to protect a 58-point lead in the Southern 500. He has victories at six of the final 11 tracks on the schedule.
“We’ve got a lot of potential but we’re not quite finishing the deal,” he said of his outlook for the final stretch of the season. “It’s been for numerous reasons, and it was my fault [at Michigan], just trying too hard at the end of the race and stepped over the edge. We should have run fourth and, instead, we were 24th. That one’s on me.
“In general, [we’re] consistently fast, which is good. If we can just put everything else together, we’re going to be in good shape. It’s just been frustrating the last couple of months.”