In astonishing fashion at Daytona, Ryan Truex became only the sixth multi-race winner in the 2024 Xfinity Series. His victory at the 2024 Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola should serve the rest of the grid as a warning. After all, a part-timer, non-eligible to make the playoffs, won for the second time (after Dover on April 27) in NASCAR’s second tier this season.

Ryan Truex’s repeat success has raised eyebrows and fueled speculation on why he hasn’t secured a permanent seat for the upcoming season.

Is Ryan Truex the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ neglected gem?

After his win at Dover a few months ago, MTJ’s younger sibling had asserted how he ‘belonged’ here in the grand scheme of things. He had jubilantly announced, “My goal is to drive one of these cars full time next year.” Yet, with the 2025 silly season already swinging full speed, revealing some major movement and personnel changes between manufacturers and teams, Truex still faces difficulties finding a full schedule. Even after his win at Daytona, he seemed to lament the lack of opportunities, summarizing his situation in nine disheartening words: “I don’t get to race that often. I don’t know what I’m gonna do next year….”

Ryan Truex finished inside the top 10 in both stages of the Daytona Xfinity race. The JGR #20 visited Victory Lane last in Nashville. All combined, four drivers have wheeled the car to six wins in the 2024 Xfinity Series. Christopher Bell and Aric Almirola have won in the Xfinity #20 once each this season to add to that tally. The only drivers who have done it multiple times are John Hunter Nemechek and Ryan Truex.

Bell, Nemechek, and even Almirola (until his retirement last season) have all been on full-time contracts in the NASCAR Cup Series. Truex has only raced full-time thrice in his NASCAR career. Once in 2018 for Kaulig Racing. And two separate Truck Series runs between 2017 and 2021. His first stint came in the Hattori Racing Enterprises #16, then he raced the No. 40 Niece Motorsports Truck in what would end up being his final full-time season in the sport.

Since then, Truex has bounced around the Xfinity programs of teams like JR Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing. But a permanent seat has not transpired yet for the Mayetta, NJ, native.

Regardless, he did not forget to appreciate every opportunity he received and thanked everyone who contributed to his most recent success. He told NBC Sports in his victorious post-race interview, “We worked hard on our superspeedway stuff. Daytona, Atlanta, I feel like we were behind the 8-ball. We came here. All qualified well. All raced well. Shoutout to Tyler (Green) up on the roof, what an amazing spotter. He drove this car. I just turned the steering wheel. So thanks to him, Xfinity internet, everybody at JGR. Toyota, TRD. I can’t believe this…”

A team effort through and through.@Ryan_Truex | @JoeGibbsRacing pic.twitter.com/MssLj7gijv

— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) August 24, 2024

But, what’s going wrong for the 32-year-old?

Stuck in the wrong time

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Unfortunately, Ryan Truex’s career graph hasn’t shown the promise it should have. Having been a part of NASCAR’s second-tier since 2010, the driver’s first win came after a long wait of 13 years. In a sport where every lap, every tourney, every race gives birth to an up-and-coming driver, Truex’s redemption arc started a tad bit late. Notably, the driver was a part of JGR back in 2011-2012 (part-time) and was able to get only two top-5 in 11 races. But that’s not too bad for a 20-year-old, is it?

Well, sponsors didn’t seem to think so, leading Truex to part ways with JGR. Speaking of sponsorship, it was reported earlier that the driver would be driving full-time in the Xfinity Series under the collaboration of his team and Toyota in 2024. However, that’s far from what’s happened.

Also a cause for concern is his age. At 32, with limited years left, not many other than Toyota seem to throw their weight behind the recent victor. But Ryan Truex isn’t losing hope, while also being cautious.

“I think on-track stuff for me right now has been an improvement and I’m the best I’ve ever been. I think I can go out and win at any track any time we show up. We will see if that works out or if I end up with no sponsors and no ride,” the driver said earlier this year.

This was Ryan Truex’s third Xfinity Series win in his comparably unfortunate NASCAR career, his first-ever at the World Center of Racing. Before this, his best outing at Daytona came in 2016, when he scored a solitary P2 finish at the season-opening Truck race for Hattori Racing Enterprises.

Hence, Truex explained, “I felt good this week coming in and I knew we’d have a shot. And I feel like every time I’m here, I just end up making a dumb mistake or get caught up in a wreck. So I am just glad we finished one out.”

With his elder brother, Martin, retiring at the end of this season, some Truex fans hoped to see his brother take the reins of the #19 Cup Camry XSE for JGR. But that honor will go to Chase Briscoe in 2025, who has signed up for the duties on a multi-year contract.

This leaves Ryan Truex little option but to settle for less come next season. But with performances like this, it’s only a matter of time before someone deems him worthy enough to lead his own program to ultimate NASCAR success.