The 2024 NASCAR Cup season is the last one where we’ll get to see Martin Truex Jr pilot the #19 car. Previously this year, Truex Jr announced his retirement. In the statement the 2017 Cup Series Champion said, “I would say I’ve achieved more than I ever thought I would. A championship and three runners-up in this (elimination) format, I feel like that’s really good. I’m proud of what I’ve done.” 

While one brother has had a full NASCAR career spanning over 21 years. The other one is still struggling to find a full-time ride. Ryan Truex has the talent of his brother, but not the funding. Hence, despite being a two-time ARCA series champion and having multiple wins in the Xfinity Series, he’s only a part-time driver in the Series. Recently, MTJ gave an update on his brother’s future as it continues to hang in the balance.

The curious case of Ryan Truex

In the recent Xfinity Atlanta race, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver got a P10 finish. The part-time driver has made nine starts so far and managed to get 5-top 10 finishes, and two top-5 finishes while bagging two wins. His average finish so far has been 14.33, which is commendable. However, the 32-year-old has only had one full-time season in the Xfinity Series. It was back in 2018 with Kaulig racing, finishing 12th in the season. The reason why no team is backing him is the lack of sponsors. It’s a known fact how expensive it is to run a full-time racing team in NASCAR.

Ahead of the Watkins Glen race, Martin Truex Jr was asked for an update on Ryan’s situation at a press conference. To this, a disappointed MTJ replied, “As of now, he really has nothing. He is really working hard to try and figure some things out. It really boils down to sponsorship and what can you bring to the table. He is really working hard at that and is still doing his sim work and everything he does behind the scenes for his real job, and trying to put something together for Xfinity. We’ve got a few people that he is talking to, but nothing is done yet so we will see how it plays out.”

Bringing the money has been a big issue for Truex. Back in 2017, he ran a full Truck Series season with Toyota primary sponsorship. And in some races, he has Joe Gibbs’ primary sponsorship. In his 2018 season, he had multiple sponsors, including “Bar Harbor Foods” and “Phantom Fireworks”. However, they left him post the season. Currently, he does not have any sponsors and hence no full-time ride. Recently he spoke about the same on the Door Bumper Clear Podcast.

He said, “It’s basically money. But it’s so hard. When you don’t have anything, and you know there’s guys out there that can guarantee this much money and then sell against it for 9 months, they’re going to find most of it. When you’ve got nothing, when you’ve got to commit millions of dollars, it’s really hard to find all that, put it together, and show up to a team and say, ‘Here you go.’ There’s not sponsor spending full-time money at any level.” 

If Ryan Truex was to find the money, he certainly has the talent to compete with the front runners in the Xfinity Series. And his performance has only improved with time.

Ryan Truex’s NASCAR runs have bettered over the years

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Because of a lack of sponsors, he lost the full-time ride with Kaulig Racing after 2018. In the 2019 Xfinity Season, he ran six races for JR Motorsports, where he managed four top-10s and one top-5 finish with an average finish of 13.7. In 2021, he got another full-time Truck Season with Joe Gibbs Racing and Menards was his sponsor. However, that season did not go as Truex had hoped.

In the 2021 season, he remained winless, getting three top 10s and two top 5 finishes. His performance had him lose that ride, too. Post that, in 2022, he again ran a few races for JGR in the Xfinity. And continued to do so in 2023. When he ran 6 races with JGR bagging one win, three top 10s, and three top 5s, he finished the season with an average finish of 11.67.

His career trajectory so far is proof enough of his talent. Ryan Truex believes he can do wonders for a team if given a full season. “My stock has definitely risen in the past year and a half. And if I was racing full-time, riding around in 15-20th, I’m probably done. I’m older and I haven’t won. So at this point in my career, what I’ve done and how long I’ve been around, it’s all about winning and continuing to prove that I’m a valuable asset to a team and I can help build a team.”

However, as of now, he continues as a part-time driver. Many in the NASCAR community have argued about money winning over talent. Hopefully, he will soon bag a full-time ride. What do you think of Ryan Truex? Do you think he deserves a ride or not? Let us know in the comments below.