Martin Truex Jr. stepped away from full-time competition in the Cup Series but does the NASCAR bug ever leave the driver? We didn’t think so either. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that his dreams of continuing racing are stronger than ever. In fact, he is currently eyeing the next Daytona 500. However, his return to Daytona now faces complications.

However, in a lot of the chaos that surrounds MTJ’s dreams, some things are clear. To begin with: Denny Hamlin was keen on hiring Truex Jr. for 23XI. But, that’s not happening. Instead, MTJ is considering his former team, Joe Gibbs Racing. The only problem is, it looks unlikely. We explain the hows and the whys.

What’s the problem with Martin Truex Jr. planning to race the Daytona 500 under the JGR banner?

Martin Truex Jr. is the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion, with 34 career wins in the Cup Series. He joined Joe Gibbs Racing in 2019 and secured his first victory with them at Richmond Raceway. Notable wins include the Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500 during his five years with Furniture Row Racing, where he achieved 17 victories. In 2023, he ended a 54-race winless streak with a victory at Dover Motor Speedway and started the season by winning the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum. Sounds good, right?

However, he never won a Daytona 500 – the most prestigious race of the NASCAR season. This is the race that starts the season, and for good reason. It attracts the media attention to the maximum and therefore is a good place for a driver to showcase his abilities. What would that get? Sponsorships! With his decision to retire, fans thought the win would elude him forever. However, Martin Truex Jr. has other plans. He decided to come back just to race at the Daytona 500. At the moment, he wants to race with Joe Gibbs Racing for the race. However, as Eric Estepp pointed out, there may be a big barrier to the plan.

He explained, “As I understand, and unless things have changed under the new charter agreement, four-car teams like Gibbs are not allowed to run a fifth car, even part-time, even as an open entry. So, Truex could not race for Gibbs. He would have to race for if I have to guess, if not 23XI, Legacy, which is another Toyota team. They only have two entries next year. They could add a third. It is interesting, because according to Brad Keselowski, as reported by Clare B Lang, the new charter agreement limits teams to three chartered entries.”

As per the new charter agreement, NASCAR entered with the teams, there is a hard cap set to the number of charters a team can have. For teams like Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports, that limit is at 4. This means if Martin Truex Jr. wants to race at Daytona, he needs to look at a different team. Unfortunately for him, 23XI Racing also looks like a bleak option. Although most fans assumed MTJ would race with the Denny Hamlin-owned team, he revealed his plans to do so with JGR instead earlier this week.

It came as a massive shock to most fans since Denny Hamlin welcomed him with open arms months ago when MTJ first announced his Daytona plans. However, with the ongoing NASCAR lawsuit Hamlin’s team is a part of and their troubles acquiring the third charter from SHR, MTJ could find himself out of the 23XI option as well.

If 23XI is and JGR may not be able to field MTJ, can Legacy field him? This might be something to keep an eye on. But, it does look that MTJ has options if he plays his cards right. Legacy Motor Club currently has two full-time entries. One is John Hunter Nemechek’s No. 42, and the other is Erik Jones’ No. 43. It also has a part-time entry with Jimmie Johnson’s No. 84. This organization could be a realistic option for Martin Truex Jr. at Daytona if he’s looking for a Toyota NASCAR Cup Series team.

“Either way, MTJ fans rest assured, he still sounds confident he will race the Daytona 500 next year. Will it be with Joe Gibbs? Will it be Legacy Motor Club? Or, will it be with a Gibbs alliance? Your guess is as good as mine,” said Eric Estepp.

Additional problems with JGR and 23XI

One way Gibbs could have another car for MTJ would be by “grandfathering in” with Hendrick Motors. But Estepp says that would be unfair. He said, “That could be a whole separate conversation about whether that’s fair or not. I don’t think there are many other teams actively looking to add a fourth car but I feel they should be allowed to if they want. Otherwise, it seems like an unfair Gibbs-Henrick advantage.”

While the other teams have a limit of three charters, Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports, both have a strong history with the sport, going back decades. While some fans may argue that this is enough to set them up with the additional charter, it may be detrimental to competition in the latter rounds of playoffs. Simply by having an extra car, the teams may get an advantage in terms of helping a driver from their team qualify. Martinsville was evidence enough of drivers helping each other out.

This change comes as part of the new charter agreement, one which 23XI and FRM keep fighting. If the lawsuit does go in the way of Michael Jordan and Co., do you think this will be one of the things that changes in the charter agreement as a whole?