Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes a compelling argument on why Martin Truex Jr. should not retire in 2023
Dale Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. were teammates at DEI for four full-time seasons.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. (Credits: ftw.usatoday.com)
Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Martin Truex Jr.’s retirement plans are among the few things that have been bugging the NASCAR community since the start of the 2023 season. The 2017 Cup champion postponed his retirement to one more season last season, and fans want him to do the same in 2024. But unlike 2022, the No:19 Camry driver remains conflicted about what to do.
Last year if Truex Jr. decided to end his full-time Cup career, many would have agreed with him as he ended the season winless and out of the last 16. But came 2023, it’s an entirely different story. The veteran has scored three wins so far this season and is the front-runner alongside William Byron and Ross Chastain to win the regular season championship.
Truex Jr.’s former teammate and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. has come forth to give his opinion on the retirement rumors involving his close friend. He pointed out that the former DEI driver is a cool and unique personality and a fun character to be around. Junior added that Truex Jr. is a man of few but meaningful words. Dale Jr. believes that NASCAR will lose a fun character if the TRD driver retires.
“If we lost Martin, we’d be losing a really cool personality and a very unique person that’s fun to pull for. I know that he’s ruffled some feathers with some comments in the past about, you know, especially with Joey Logano, he won the battle, but he won’t win the war, and then they go to Homestead, and he loses the war to Joey,” he said in Dale Jr. Download podcast.
“I know all that changed people’s minds about Martin at points, and I could read that and social media and so forth. But dang man, man of few words, when he speaks, he genuinely has something to say that matters to him,” Dale Jr. added.
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Winning the title might not be enough for Martin Truex Jr. to extend his stay, reckons Dale Jr.
Like every other NASCAR fan, Dale Jr. is waiting for his friend Truex Jr. to make the big decision. He wants the driver to stay in the Cup series for at least a couple more years and secure a few more wins before ending his career.
But, Dale Jr. is uncertain about the motivating factor that could keep him sacrificing more for the sport he gave more than half of his life for. Even winning the 2023 Cup title, which will be his second ever, won’t be enough of a factor, according to the JRM co-owner.
“I don’t know how much more he could do, you know, does he stick around and grind out a couple more years for a few more wins, and even if he wins a championship this year, I don’t know if that keeps him around. We’re all waiting, so we’ll see,” said Dale Jr.
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Justin P Joy
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