With Retirement Looming Over His Head, Martin Truex Jr. Admits to Have Lost the Ability to Dominate NASCAR’s Crown Jewel

Martin Truex Jr. is the only one among the active drivers to have won the Coca-Cola 600 twice- 2016 and 2019. Now holding four top-five spots, Truex stands in solid contention to win NASCAR’s crown jewel race at Charlotte, given his stellar record there. Why isn’t he feeling optimistic then? Turns out, there is a reason.

The Next-Gen cars are to be blamed. The Next-Gen aka Gen-7 cars have received mixed reviews. Ever since its inception in 2022, multiple issues, ranging from its tires to the hood flaps, have come under heavy scrutiny from drivers and fans alike. NASCAR is known to be prone to changes. Not long ago, Charlotte Motor Speedway had a taste of the same with a revamp, which again didn’t fare well with the motorsports fraternity.

These things, combined with the factor of his looming retirement plans, are potentially proving to be overwhelming for the veteran driver. But what exactly did Martin Truex Jr. have to say about the situation? Talking about the next-gen cars being in the way of his third Coca-Cola 600 chances, he told Frontstretch, “These cars are more sensitive, for sure, to the track conditions changing. And it’s really difficult to have one of these things good for 600 miles. I think that was quite the anomaly we found in 2016, with our car being just that good all night long. No matter what we did, it was just right. Hard to get a car like that, especially with the next-gen car here.”

Martin Truex Jr. started his racing career with drivers who built their own cars. At the zenith of his career, he was a dominant presence on the track and a force to be reckoned with. However, the times have changed now, and so have the vehicles. And that’s something Truex will have to put up with.

Yet #19 Toyota driver stands as a formidable presence. His first 2016 victory was dominant, and he squared down things on his unique Furniture Row Racing’s No. 79 car. Martin Truex Jr. further elaborated on why his chances at the 2024 Coca-Cola 600 are slim, discussing the technical nitty-gritty. “You gotta have a balance of your car being good and keeping track position, which makes your car better. It’s a combination of those things…bad pit stops can take you out.”

“The tire fall off seems to be more so than normal, but again, it was hot as crap today, so it’s gonna be cold…It’s going to cool off as this race goes on. Then all that stuff gets tougher to pass and all that. So it’s definitely way different than it used to be, no matter what it looks like.”

Now, add his potential retirement to the mix and things don’t look good. Ahead of his 2024 NASCAR season, the driver hinted at retirement, stating, “I have no idea what I’m doing next year.”

But coming back to the Next-Gen cars, his words aren’t in isolation and have been echoed around the NASCAR fraternity. A while ago, veteran Kyle Petty highlighted the same, emphasizing how the Next-Gen cars were ruining NASCAR’s superstar legacy. On a similar note, even Kyle Busch stated how those cars have led to a lot of confusion.

Kyle Busch: New cars, new confusion

The Next-Gen cars have been a great challenge for the two-time Cup champion. At the Darlington Raceway, the driver recently opened up about the challenges. “I feel like I’m fighting many more balance issues,” he said, which is similar to what Martin Truex Jr. opined. Apart from balance issues, he also pointed out the car’s aero deficiencies.

He shared that drivers may intend to do one thing but may end up doing something else because of how confusing the cars are. In the process of getting used to how the car feels, it may cost drivers their precious win by a tenth of a second.

“I think the last time we had this much confusion was when we had the high downforce package on the Cup cars — the old Cup car where you didn’t know if you wanted to be the downforce guy or the less drag guy at the different racetracks, you know… So like, I think (Martin) Truex Jr., if I remember right, like they poured all the downforce on his cars and he was fast his way, and they made Denny’s (Hamlin) cars less drag and he was fast that way,” Busch told. All-in-all, many drivers have negative views about the Next-Gen cars.

UPDATE: Coca-Cola 600 lasted for only 249 laps because of inclement weather. Christopher Bell emerged as the winner while Brad Keselowski, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, and Denny Hamlin ended up in top-5. Martin Truex, Jr. ended up finishing at No. 12.