When Martin Truex Jr. announced he was stepping away from full-time NASCAR racing at the end of 2024, most fans assumed he’d swap race tracks for fishing spots and hunting trails. After all, the 2017 Cup Series champion seemed ready to trade high-speed turns for a slower-paced life filled with hobbies and relaxation.

But it turns out Truex isn’t quite ready to let go of the driver’s seat—at least not entirely. One race has always eluded him: the Daytona 500. Even with a Cup championship and countless wins to his name, Truex has never claimed the sport’s most iconic trophy. With MTJ receiving an open offer from 23XI Racing for the Daytona 500, most fans expected the NASCAR veteran to take up the team’s Camry.

Sounds like a plan, right? Not so fast. Truex just threw a curveball into those expectations—and it’s a big one.

The Daytona 500 plot twist

Back in June, when Martin Truex Jr. announced his retirement plans, the  NASCAR world watched in shock. One of their favorite drivers would no longer continue to entertain them. However, Martin Truex Jr. gave them a sense of hope with an additional detail. He’d be looking to return just for the Daytona 500. It’s not strange for NASCAR drivers to return for specific races, and for MTJ, it was the track he never won at.

At the time, his teammate Denny Hamlin immediately chimed in, offering Truex Jr a seat for the race if he ever wanted to participate. Hamlin was all-in on the idea, saying, “Any time that Martin gets bored and wants to run Cup, we would have a seat for him for sure.” Denny Hamlin has made similar offers to other drivers as well in the past. During one episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, he even offered up the seat to NASCAR legend Carl Edwards, who later turned it down. With Denny Hamlin‘s energy about Martin Truex Jr. potentially driving for the team, things looked set to make the duo come together in 2025.

In a surprising turn, Truex revealed that his 2025 Daytona 500 appearance won’t be with 23XI Racing after all. Instead, he’s sticking with familiar territory: Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), the team where he spent the last stretch of his full-time career. So, what happened to the 23XI plan? Truex casually addressed it in a recent interview, saying, “Uh, no, it’s not [with 23XI]. Yeah, I’m not sure what they’re doing, honestly. It’s still up in the air. JGR’s doing it somehow. So we’ll see.”

While the exact reasoning behind the switch is unclear, the move feels right for Truex. At the moment, 23XI’s biggest priority will be to find themselves on stable ground in their ongoing lawsuit. NASCAR recently changed the wording of regulations that allowed 23XI Racing and FRM to run as open teams for 2025. However, the big problem for 23XI is the approval of Tony Stewart’s charter sale. Without it, they won’t be able to field Riley Herbst in the #35 car. Perhaps, fans will have some clarity on what happens to the MTJ-Hamlin collaboration when the dust of the lawsuit against NASCAR settles.

He’s had an impressive run with Joe Gibbs Racing, winning races, competing for championships, and solidifying himself as a key figure in the team’s history. Reflecting on his time with JGR, Truex couldn’t say enough good things about the organization. “It was great, honestly. Just to be part of such a professional race team with so many smart people working hard to be the best,” he said. “Joe [Gibbs] has a high demand for performance, and he gets the best out of everyone. It’s a fun environment to race in.”

With JGR by his side, Truex’s Daytona 500 attempt feels less like a nostalgic one-off and more like a calculated effort to chase that one big win still missing from his trophy case. But Daytona isn’t the only thing on his to-do list.

Part-time racing and full-time fun

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Truex isn’t just dipping his toes back into the Cup Series—he’s also gearing up for some part-time racing in the Xfinity Series, where his NASCAR journey began. And for Martin Truex Jr., this isn’t about proving anything; it’s about having fun with a style of racing he genuinely enjoys. “I’m going to do the Daytona 500, and then I’m looking forward to racing some Xfinity cars just to have fun and see how it goes. I really enjoy that style of car—the low downforce. It’s like the older cars we used to race,” he shared.

Unlike the grueling demands of a full-time Cup Series schedule, Xfinity offers Truex the chance to enjoy the sport on his terms. This is a big factor, considering Martin Truex Jr. made the retirement decision because of NASCAR’s grueling schedule and not being able to spend enough time with his loved ones. He hasn’t picked specific tracks yet—“I don’t even know where they’re going,” he admitted with a laugh—but he’s excited about the possibilities.

Beyond racing, Truex is ready to dive into hobbies he’s had to put on hold during his full-time career. “I’ve got a lot of hobbies, and I need to catch up on those. I’m excited about that,” he said. Whether it’s fishing, hunting, or just enjoying some well-earned downtime, Truex seems determined to strike a balance between life on the track and life off it.

Fishing in particular strikes a chord for MTJ. During his childhood, Martin Truex Jr. grew up on the shores of New Jersey fishing. His father, Martin Truex Sr., a Busch North Series racer, owned a fishing company named Sea Watch International. It was only natural for Truex Jr. to develop fishing as one of his relaxing habits away from the high-stakes world of NASCAR. In fact, he once shared his biggest catch ever in 2019. It was a 570 lb bluefin tuna.

Fans certainly hope Martin Truex Jr. gets plenty of rest before the 2025 season gets underway. Who knows, after the Daytona 500, he may just have enough spark left to enter another race!