Some racers in NASCAR are meant to sail through the sport and make a name for themselves. Fans cherish these racers, sometimes even for generations to come. However, not everyone is fortunate enough to live such moments throughout the course of their careers. The history of the sport is filled with racers who knocked at the doors, trying to break in and seize the moment for themselves, but it never happened.

Something of a similar sort happened with Ryan Truex. The part-time racer for Joe Gibbs Racing has been trying to fully arrive at the Xfinity division for a long time now. But the stars for the 32-year-old are just not aligning to get the kind of returns almost everyone would expect after his impressive performances this year. Not only is it visibly frustrating for his fans- Martin Truex Jr fans have also been waiting for him to finally land a full-time car. After all, Ryan has big shoes to fill following his brother’s retirement at the end of the season.

Ryan Truex expresses the mental toll it takes to wait at JGR

Ryan Truex had a breakthrough season in every sense. The 32-year-old proved his mettle with the No. 19 and 20 Toyota Supras in the Xfinity series. He won two races this season, including an all-important win at Daytona International Speedway. A feat which his brother achieved in the year 2005. Additionally, he won the BetRivers 200 at Dover Motor Speedway starting from 12th position. The race had an interesting turn of events during overtime. It got extended to 208 laps because of several wrecking incidents. Ultimately, Ryan Truex emerged better than others.

But all these wins are supposedly not enough for him to get a full-time contract from Joe Gibbs Racing. Truex talked about his frustration at not being able to start for the team full-time. During an interview with Jeff Gluck for The Athletic’s 12 Questions series, the 32-year-old talked about his permanent work at JGR and said, “As a part-time guy, I’m at the simulator a lot. That’s my full-time job. I’m there two or three times a week, eight hours a day. I do that for JGR weekly on the Cup side. That’s probably something people don’t know.”

Seems too much for a racer of that caliber! Further adding to the physical effects it has caused, Ryan Truex said, “It’s just mental. When you’re sitting like that for a prolonged state, it can be physical. It’s like a road trip. If you drive for eight hours straight, you feel terrible; your legs hurt, your knees hurt, your back hurt. You’ve got to try to get breaks. And I’ve spent a lot of time at the Toyota gym doing recovery stuff.”

Mentally, too, the driver suffers from such extreme exposure to racing. On being asked about the effects it leaves on the brain, Ryan said, “Last year I ended up with like 110 days that I was in there. I ran like 25,000 laps throughout the year. It definitely took some getting used to doing it that much. It feels like your brain is scrambled because you’re just making laps, looking at data, talk about it, make some more laps, look at more data. It’s just driving and looking at squiggly lines.” Teams use these simulators primarily for strategy development and study occupant responses. These help in reducing the risk of injuries during actual races.

While Ryan Truex has displayed exemplary commitment for the Joe Gibbs Racing team, his future in the Xfinity division hangs in the balance. The situation has become more complicated because of Brandon Jones’ return to JGR next season onwards.

The unpredictable future of Ryan Truex

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Joe Gibbs Racing has recently announced that its former Xfinity driver, Brandon Jones, will be returning to the team for the 2025 season. He is currently the No. 9 for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series and was earlier a part of the JGR team from 2018 to 2022. With his return, the team is looking forward to return to winning ways. Brandon Jones was a part of the JGR team from 2018 to 2022. The 27-year-old qualified for the Xfinity playoffs in each of the five seasons he was a part of the team.

In light of Brandon Jones’ arrival, Ryan Truex’s future hangs in the balance. The 32-year-old is expected to return to the JGR team in a part-time role due to a lack of sponsors for Ryan Truex to convert his tenure to a full-time position in the team. Currently, Ryan Truex is sponsored by organizations like Toyota, Auto-Owners Insurance, and SiriusXM. None of these sponsors have gone out in public to support Ryan Truex full-time in the Xfinity Series.