Should Joe Gibbs Racing Play the Gamble With Martin Truex Jr’s Inevitable Retirement Edging Closer Than Ever

Martin Truex Jr may soon be approaching the zenith of his career. Having won 34 Cup wins over 20 years, the 43-year-old veteran has been mulling retirement plans for two years. As his NASCAR exit inches closer, it seems the pressure is building on Joe Gibbs Racing to keep the Truex legacy strong in the team. And who can be the better candidate than his brother, Ryan Truex?

In his most recent Xfinity outing in Dover, Ryan Truex proved his mettle. Although the race was initially a battle between Austin Hill, Sheldon Creed, and Carson Kvapil, Truex bested all three to come out with his second Xfinity victory. So maybe it’s time for JGR to finally grant him a full-time status. Or at least that’s what many industry insiders think. 

Ryan Truex rallies NASCAR experts behind his talent

When JR Motorsports driver Kvapil drove past the Richard Childress Racing pair Hill and Creed, fans knew the Monster Mile climax would surprise them. Soon, on a late-race restart, Kvapil found another aggressive driver on his heels: Ryan Truex. Then, as the second restart granted Truex the lead, he was able to dominate the final two laps to the victory to achieve Victory Lane.

Having recorded his first Xfinity win, incidentally on the same race track, Ryan Truex passed the Dover test with flying colors yet again. But what baffles many is the fact that Ryan Truex has yet to compete as a full-timer, despite being a part of NASCAR’s second division since 2010. 

One of the people to talk about it was the Athletic journalist Jeff Gluck, who drew a comparison between him and eight other drivers with multiple wins in 2023. 

And that brings the spotlight on Truex’s team, Joe Gibbs Racing, which is yet to accept the driver into their full-time schedule. However, perhaps what stands in the driver’s way is the lack of championships for over a decade. Despite that, Austin Konenski from the Motorsports Wire made a resounding call on X and highlighted Ryan Truex’s talent. Mentioning how the driver has what it takes to show consistent results, he shared:

But will Joe Gibbs offer Martin Truex Jr’s younger brother a full-time ride? With the #19 Cup driver teasing his retirement for a long time now, perhaps that could soon become true. And it seems that even Truex Jr would be a happy man if that comes to fruition.

Martin Truex Jr thinks his brother would be the perfect replacement

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Blood indeed is thicker than water! And one of the prime examples of that is the bond that Martin Truex Jr and Ryan Truex share. The JGR driver wouldn’t choose anybody else to carry forward his legacy, which he talked about in detail last year. In a conversation with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, the 43-year-old painted a hopeful picture of his brother taking over the reins of the #19 after his retirement.

“It would be so awesome if one day when I retire I could get him in this car of mine. But for now, we need to get some sponsors and we need to get him in that 19 Xfinity car more often, and get him full-time and get him a championship there,” he said.

But for that to happen, Ryan Truex will first have to secure himself a full-time ride in the Xfinity Series. “We got to take it one step at a time. We need to get him full-time in Xfinity. With the right team and the right guys he’s got now that he’s working with, he’s a championship contender from day one. We just need to find a way to get that deal put together for next year,” the 2017 Cup Series champion shared.

But, with Saturday’s triumph, it seems the part-time JGR racer has already taken a step in that direction. Now all that remains for him is to hold on to that consistency and show JGR how capable he is. Do you think he’ll be able to do it?