By ZECH YODER
Last week, 2017 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Martin Truex Jr. announced his retirement from full-time Cup Series racing. This week, Joe Gibbs Racing introduced Indiana native, Chase Briscoe, as his replacement in the No. 19 Toyota.
Truex, Jr.’s career did not follow the typical Cup Series trajectory. He grew up in a racing family in New Jersey and was discovered by Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
In 2004, he raced fulltime in the Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) for Earnhardt Jr. at Chance 2 Motorsports. Truex Jr. won back-to-back Busch Series Championships in 2004 and 2005. In 2006, he was promoted to the Cup Series to drive the No. 1 car for Dale Earnhardt Inc. Unfortunately, DEI was in decline, and managed only one win in four years.
Truex, Jr. moved from DEI to Michael Waltrip Racing in 2010. It took more than four years for Truex to reach victory lane with MWR. He picked up his second career win at Sonoma in 2014. However, the 2014 season and his tenure with MWR was tarnished by the 2014 Fall Richmond race in which his MWR teammate, Clint Bowyer, intentional spun to ensure Truex would make the playoffs. The incident led to the departure of Truex from MWR.
In 2014, Truex joined Furniture Row Racing in the No. 78 car, a move that changed Truex’s career and began an unprecedented run for the single car team. From 2014 through 2018, Truex won 16 races and the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series Championship. It was almost unheard of for a single car team like Furniture Row to win a race. Yet Truex dominated the Cup Series during those years. After Furniture Row closed its doors at the end of the 2018 season, Truex moved to Joe Gibbs Racing and the No. 19 car. His success continued with two additional Championship 4 appearances and fifteen additional wins.
With 18 races remaining in the 2024 season, I expect Truex to find his way back into victory lane. A fitting first win of the season would be NASCAR’s return to the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Regardless, Truex will go down as top-shelf talent in the Cup Series.
The signing of Chase Briscoe by JGR was a bit of a surprise to everyone. Briscoe, a Ford driver, was expected to sign with a Ford team, perhaps Front Row Motorsports. Briscoe was the best free agent and a wise move on the part of JGR.
His first few years in the Cup Series have been, by all accounts, a disappointment. Much of his struggles are attributable to the struggles of Stewart Haas Racing, who has been down on speed since the introduction of the Gen7 car in 2022. JGR provides Briscoe with an opportunity to showcase his talent and his speed – although with the increase in performance comes added pressure.
Fellow JGR drivers, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell, each has three wins this season and all JGR drivers are solidly above the playoff cut line. Briscoe, with a veteran team and crew chief, will be expected to run up front and win with JGR. He will be out to prove himself. I would not be shocked if he gets an early win in 2025.
Zech Yoder is a local resident, an attorney at Adler Attorneys in Noblesville, and a lifelong race fan.