Martin Truex Jr. claims running out of fuel at Sonoma “lit the candles” for his retirement decision

Martin Truex Jr. announced his retirement at the end of 2024 at Iowa.

Martin Truex Jr. claims running out of fuel at Sonoma “lit the candles” for his retirement decision

Martin Truex Jr. (Via IMAGO)

Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Martin Truex Jr. confirmed to the whole NASCAR nation last week that he will retire from full-time racing at the end of 2024 season. The future Hall of Famer is slowing down his life to do something different in the future. But he will still race in the Cup and Xfinity series in selected events.

While the decision to retire was inevitable, Martin Truex Jr. announced it a bit too early than many expected.  He found out it is the right time to take the next step of his career after mulling over for a long-time. Spire Motorsports driver Corey LaJoie in the recent episode of Stacking Pennies podcast revealed why the decision was made quickly.

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He confirmed that the rumors that claims Truex Jr. decided to announce retirement this early because of running out of fuel at Sonoma. The JGR veteran admitted to LaJoie that the incident gave him the spark to quickly make the decision. With the silly-season in full-swing the early call gives JGR enough time to find the right replacement.

I asked him like, ‘When did you know for sure? He was like, ‘Ah, I’ve been mulling it over.’ I said, ‘Was it when you were driving your car with the starter across the start/finish line at Sonoma?’ He was like, ‘The cake was there, but that lit the candles’.
Corey LaJoie said via Stacking Pennies.

NASCAR senior VP brands Martin Truex Jr. as a first ballot Hall of Famer

The Senior Vice President of Competition at NASCAR, Elton Sawyer recently discussed the retirement of Martin Truex Jr. He pointed out that the JGR driver is a first ballot Hall of Famer and a real ambassador of the sport, who will be missed from the 2025 season.

Martin Truex Jr.
Martin Truex Jr. (Via IMAGO)
There’s without a doubt a first-ballot Hall of Famer and a terrific competitor still to this day. He just goes out, does his job, he races at a high level, a true competitor, and a real ambassador to our sport and we’re going to miss Martin next year.
Elton Sawyer said.

Just like the NASCAR VP, all the passionate fans of the sport will be missing the veteran in the No:19 Toyota Camry and would be looking forward to his odd part-time starts from 2025 season. It would be interesting to see what the future holds for the 2017 Cup champion.

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