At 43, Martin Truex Jr is still going strong as a race car driver in NASCAR’s premier series. Despite the success he has achieved in his career, he manages to keep himself grounded, and the best part about him is that he still races clean. He has been in the scene for about two decades now and is one of the few drivers who has seen the drastic shift from the traditional days into the modern era.

One of the biggest changes the JGR driver has witnessed is how the cars have changed dramatically. Long gone are those days when a team’s car used to provide a real edge over the competitors on the track. But with the NextGen car, Truex believes that the dynamics of racing have completely changed. He even poked fun at his former rival, Tony Stewart, suggesting he would fail miserably racing in almost identical NextGen cars, and in the current racing era.

Martin Truex Jr believes Tony Stewart would not have survived racing in the modern era

Since its arrival, for most teams, the Next-Gen car has been a tough nut to crack in terms of gaining an advantage over rivals on the track. It’s not just the teams, even veteran racers like Truex Jr are finding it hard to adjust to the new machine. In fact, the JGR driver has struggled to find the dominant performance he once had.

Truex Jr while speaking to The Athletic, explained how racing has changed. “Now you just get what you get and you’ve got to micro-analyze everything to find (an advantage). It’s not nearly as hands-on with the driver as it used to be… I miss that part of it. (Stewart’s) head would spin and fly. He would explode. I love Tony, but he would absolutely hate it. He would lose his mind every weekend with the way this racing in now.”

While he has his reservations about the modern era of racing, Truex understands why drivers race aggressively to gain track positions. Especially given how evenly matched the cars are. “There used to be 10 or 15 cars on the lead lap at some place, now the field is tacked. You can still race clean. I feel like I do. You can still be fair. You can still not make dumba** moves. But I don’t know how to stop (bad moves) from happening.”

Read More: Tony Stewart and NextGen Cars’ Unsavory Affair Began in 2022 With Kevin Harvick for Unwarranted Modifications

The popular question for Truex Jr all around the season will be about his retirement plans. But despite his age catching up to him, the JGR driver believes he has some unfinished racing business in the Cup Series.

Truex is not too keen on the idea of retirement just yet

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With over 600 Cup races, 34 wins, and a championship to his name, surely he has done enough to join the elites of the sport in the Hall of Fame. While people called out his previous season as a disappointment by his standards, many of the young talents were faced with the same dilemma. In fact, considering he is past his prime age and getting to grips with the new era of racing in a completely different machine, three wins across the season is more than a decent result.

Struggles and challenges would surely not pave the way for Truex to call it quits from racing just yet. At least not when he is looking to write his own history in the sport. “(The thought of being in the Hall) is really special for me, but I try not to get too caught up in it. I’m still writing my history. I’d still like to add some more things to it and hopefully get in there on the first try.”

Who knows, the veteran driver might be hinting at another Cup Series season run. And given that the Daytona 500 title still eludes him, he might just have the fuel to run those extra miles.