Denny Hamlin Offers Frenemy Martin Truex Jr the Penultimate Retirement Plan as He Lets Slip Hushed Promise

Martin Truex Jr will officially bid farewell to the Cup Series at the end of the 2024 season. After bringing home 34 Cup Series wins, including the 2017 title, there’s not much left for Truex Jr to prove in the upper echelons of American motorsport. However, just like Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Sr, there’s one major accolade that still eludes his reach.

For over 20 seasons now, Martin Truex Jr has tried his very best to visit victory lane at the Daytona 500. But in 2016, it looked like Truex Jr would finally bring home the elusive win, only for his JGR teammate Denny Hamlin to steal victory by mere inches. However, just when fans might think Martin Truex Jr’s chances at a 500 win are over after his retirement announcement, Denny Hamlin stepped up to promise poetic justice.

Denny Hamlin’s got Martin Truex Jr’s shot at Daytona glory was all covered

With a few months of separation, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr have been the oldest full-time drivers in the Cup Series for a few seasons now. Naturally, the pair have been present for some of their biggest individual on-track achievements. So when Martin Truex Jr announced his retirement plans, Denny Hamlin was well aware of Truex Jr’s missed Daytona 500 opportunity.

Although motorsport is all about competition, friendships are bound to form along the way. This is why NASCAR’s ‘villain’ decided to sideline his usual antics to reveal that he’s kept his JGR teammate’s best interests in mind all along. Despite tensions heating up at Richmond Raceway last week over Denny Hamlin’s ‘jump-start’ that cost Truex Jr the win, the 23XI Racing co-owner has nothing but goodwill in mind.

Denny Hamlin shared with FrontStretch, “I told him that I would have his Daytona 500 car ready immediately, just tell me the word. I would 100% do that. I just explained that he’s a great driver, right? So why wouldn’t I? But yes, we certainly would. Anytime that Martin gets bored and wants to run Cup, we would have a seat for him for sure.”

Stating that Truex Jr was the ‘barometer of success and speed’ when Denny Hanlin entered NASCAR as a rookie, it’s safe to see why the 23XI co-owner would go out of his way to ensure Truex Jr still has a shot at that elusive win. After all, there would be nothing quite like helping your to-be-former teammate break the same curse as The Intimidator.

While it’s safe to say Denny Hamlin has no hesitance in mind when giving Truex Jr such an opportunity, it’s also worth mentioning how Karma truly comes around.

MTJ’s composure ensured there was nothing but camaraderie between the JGR teammates

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Throughout their years of being teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing, Martin Truex Jr and Denny Hamlin have had their fair share of run-ins. Just take this year’s race at Richmond, for example. After leading 228 out of 400 laps, Truex Jr fell victim to Denny Hamlin’s pit crew bringing home a faster pit stop, along with Hamlin jumping the gun. Although this left Truex Jr fuming, there was no bad blood evident.

According to Denny Hamlin, this is one of the key reasons Martin Truex Jr isn’t just loved by his pit crew, but also by his teammates. Hamlin stated, “It’s hard to believe I’ve been teammates with Martin as long as I have, and I’ve never had a what the f*ck Martin moment, like, never. I just never had it. I’m sure that he’s said that to me, about me, in his head because of the things that I’ve done as a teammate, but I’ve never had that moment.”

With Martin Truex Jr’s ‘respectful’ demeanor and exhilarating speed, Denny Hamlin compared his JGR teammate to the likes of 7X Champion, Jimmie Johnson. The 23XI co-owner concluded, “He’s so underrated as far as the natural ability to drive a car fast…..So I just think he’s one of the most naturally gifted drivers that our series has seen in quite some time. He’s just not flashy about it.”

After taking a look at the praise that NASCAR’s ‘villain’ has for Martin Truex Jr, it’s safe to say that there’s not one soul in motorsport that doesn’t appreciate the #19 JGR veterans’ resilient personalities. Naturally, this has led to some fine opportunities coming Truex Jr’s way, like Hamlin’s Daytona 500 vouch.